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THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.—see /. Si 




















ROLLICKING VERSES, AMUSING STORIES 

NURSERY RHYMES. MOTHER 
GOOSE MELODiES.THE HOUSE THAT 
JACK BUILT,THE THREE BEARS.- 
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY AND OTHER TALES. 
edited by UNCLE CHARLEY 

250 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS AND EIGHT ORIGINAL PLATES'" COLORS 


35-5^ 


JRDSLEE,PUBLISHERS 


chicago.u.s.a. 

















rzs 

■ W 4~(o 

n 0 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONOKESS. 

Two Copies Received 

IUL 3 1903 

U Copyugnt Entry 

MuV T-D -IO[0$ 

wLASS ^ XXc. No. 
j s X 

lC> J— ^ »S> v-> 

COPY B. 


I 


0 

*> i 
















CONTENTS 


8 FULL-PAGE COLORED ENGRAVINGS 
250 ILLUSTRATIONS (BLACK AND WHITE) 

PAGE 

Will You Read to Me To-night? (Poem).opp. 1 

STORIES AND RHYMES 

The House That Jack Built.1 

Mother Hubbard and Her Wonderful Dog.5 

Cock Robin and Jenny Wren.9 

The Burial of Poor Cock Robin. 17 

The Old Woman and Her Pig.20 

Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Wonderful Cats . . . .27 
The Story of the Three Bears.49 

THE TALES OF MOTHER GOOSE 

Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper.61 

The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods.73 

The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots ..89 

The Fairy.97 

Blue Beard.102 

Little Thumb.111 

Little Red Riding-Hood.127 

MOTHER STORIES 

Days and Nights, Weeks and Months and Years, Time and the 

Weather, etc. 133 

Thirty Days Hath September.139 

CHILD PLAY 

Plays, Games* Riddles, Counting-Out Rhymes, etc. . . .147 

London Bridge.156 

Three Little Kittens.174 

CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 

Stories, Proverbs, Paradoxes, Rhyming Alphabets, etc. . .178 

If Wishes Were Horses.204 

A Was an Apple-pie ..207 

“My Story’s Ended”.214 























“Will You Read to Me Tonight?” 


The dinner done, the lamp is lit, and in its 7nellow glow we sit 

A7idtalk of matters,grave atid gay, that we7it to make another day. 

Comes Little One, a book in hand, with this request — nay, this 
command, 

{For who'd gainsay the little sprite ?): “ Please, will you read to 
me tonight?" 

Read to you, Little One? Why, yes. What shall it be tonight? You 
guess 

You'd like to hear about the bears—their bowls of porridge, beds, 
and chairs ? 

Well, that you shall. — There, that tale's do7ie! And now — you'd 
like another one ? 

Tomorrow evenmg, Curly Head. It's ‘Liass-pass seven !" Off to bed! 

So each 7iight a7iother story—wicked dwarfs andgia7its gory, 

Dragons fierce and princes daring, forth to fame a7idfortune faring, 

Wandering tots, with leaves for bed, houses made of gingerbread, 

Witches bad and fairies good, and all the wonders of the wood. 

“/ like the witches best," says she who nightly nestles on my k7iee ; 

But why by them she sets such store psychologists 7nust puzzle o'er. 

Her likes are 77iine, and I agree with all that she co7ifides to me. 

A7id thus we travel, hand in ha7id, the storied roads of Fairyland. 

Ah, Little One, whe7iyears havefled, and left their silver on 77 iy 
head, 

A7id when the dimming eyes of age with difficulty scan the Page, 

On you /’ ll turn the tables thenHor I shall put the question, when 
I borrow of your better sight: “ Please, willyouread to me tonight?" 

—B. L. Taylor. 












Six Nursery Classics 


THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT 



This is the house that Jack built. 


This is the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built 


This is the rat, 

That ate the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built. 


This is the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 
That lay in-the house that Jack built 

























2 


The House that Jack Built 


This is the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 

That lay in the house that Jack built. 

This is the cow with the crumpled horn, 
That tossed the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built 

T his is the maiden all forlorn, 

'iat milked the cow with the crumpled horn, 
aat tossed the d 
nat worried the 
hat killed the ra 
That ate the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built. 

This is the man all tattered and torn, 

That kissed the maiden all forlorn, 

That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, 











The House that Jack Built 


3 


That tossed the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built. 

This is the priest all shaven and shorn, 

That married the man all tattered and torn, 
That kissed the maiden all forlorn, 

That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, 
That tossed the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 
That lay in the house that Jack built. 

This is the cock that crowed in the morn, 
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, 
That married the man all tattered and torn, 
That kissed the maiden all forlorn, 

That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, 
That tossed the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 

That lay in the house that Tack built. 
























4 The House that Jack Built 

This is the farmer sowing his corn, 

That kept the cock that crowed in the morn, 
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, 
That married the man all tattered and torn, 
That kissed the maiden all forlorn, 

That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, 
That tossed the dog, 

That worried the cat, 

That killed the rat, 

That ate the malt 

That lay in the house that Jack built. 










Mother Hubbard and Her Dog 


5 


MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER 
WONDERFUL DOG 



Old Mother Hubbard 
Went to the cupboard, 

To get her poor Dog a bone; 
But when she came there, 

The cupboard was bare, 

And so the poor Dog had none. 



































































6 


Mother Hubbard and Her Dog 


She went to the baker’s 
To buy him some bread; 

But when she came back, 

The poor Dog was dead. 

She went to the joiner’s 
To buy him a coffin; 

But when she came back, 

The poor Dog was laughing. 

She went to the hatter’s 
To buy him a hat; 

But when she came back, 

He was feeding the cat. 

She went to the barber’s 
To buy him a wig; 

But when she came back, 

He was dancing a jig. 

She went to the fruiterer’s 
To buy him some fruit; 

But when she came back, 

He was playing the flute. 

She went to the tailor’s N 
To buy him a coat; 

But when she came back, 

He was riding a goat. 




Mother Hubbard and Her Dog 


7 


She went to the cobbler’s 
To buy him some shoes; 

But when she came back, 

He was reading the news. 

She went to the sempstress’ 

To buy him some linen ; 

And when she came back, 

The Dog was a-spinning. 

She went to the hosier’s 
To buy him some hose; 

But when she came back, 

He was dressed in his clothes, 


The Dame made a curtsey, 

The Dog made a bow; 

The Dame said, “Your servant, 
The Dog said, “Bow, wow.” 


























Mother Hubbard and Her Dog 


This wonderful Dog 

Was Dame Hubbard’s delight; 
jjl He could sing, he could dance, 
He could read, he could write. 

She gave him rich dainties. 
Whenever he fed; 

And erected a monument 
h \ When he was dead. 






THE COURTSHIP, MERRY MARRIAGE, 
AND PICNIC DINNER OF COCK 
ROBIN AND JENNY WREN; 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

THE DOLEFUL DEATH OF COCK ROBIN 


It was a merry time 

When Jenny Wren was young, 
So neatly as she danced, 

And so sweetly as she sung, 
Robin Redbreast lost his heart: 

He was a gallant bird; 

He doft his hat to Jenny, 

And thus to her he said: — 



9 









IO 


Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 


“My dearest Jenny Wren, 

If you will but be mine, 

You shall dine on cherry pie, 
And drink nice currant wine. 

I’ll dress you like a Goldfinch, 

Or like a Peacock gay; 

So if you’ll have me, Jenny, 

Let us appoint the day.” 

Jenny blushed behind her fan, 
And thus declared her mind: 

“Then let it be to-morrow, Rob, 
I take your offer kind — 

Cherry pie is very good! 

So is currant wine! 

But I will wear my brown gown, 
And never dress too fine.” 

Robin rose up early 
At the break of day; 

He flew to Jenny Wren’s house, 
To sing a roundelay. 

He met the Cock and Hen, 

And bid the Cock declare, 

This was his wedding-day 
With Jenny Wren, the fair. 


Cock Robin and Jenny Wren ij 

The Cock then blew his horn, 

To let the neighbors know, 

This was Robin’s wedding-day, 

And they might see the show. 

And first came Parson Rook, 

With his spectacles and band, 

And one of Mother Hubbard's books 
He held within his hand. 



Then followed him the Lark, 

For he could sweetly sing, 

And he was to be clerk 
At Cock Robin’s wedding. 

He sung of Robin’s love 
For little Jenny Wren; 

And when he came unto the end, 
Then he began again. 



Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 

Then came the bride and bridegroom; 

Quite plainly was she dressed, 

And blushed so much, her cheeks were 
As red as Robin’s breast 
But Robin cheered her up: 

“My pretty Jen,” said he, 

“We’re going to be married 
And happy then we’ll be.” 

The Goldfinch came on next, 

To give away the bride; 

The Linnet, being bride’s maid, 
Walked by Jenny’s side ; 

And, as she was a-walking, 

She said, “Upon my word, 

I think that your Cock Robin 
Is a very pretty bird,” 

The Bullfinch walked by Robin, 

And thus to him did say, 

“ Pray, mark, friend Robin Redbreast, 
That Goldfinch, dressed so gay; 
What though her gay apparel 
Becomes her very well, 

Yet Jenny’s modest dress and look 
Must bear away the bell.” 


Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 13 

The Blackbird and the Thrush, 

And charming Nightingale, 

Whose sweet jug sweetly echoes 
Through every grove and dale; 

The Sparrow and Tom Tit, 

And many more, were there: 

All came to see the wedding 
Of Jenny Wren, the fair. 



“O then,” says Parson Rook, 

“Who gives this maid away?” 

“I do,” says the Goldfinch, 

“And her fortune I will pay: 
Here’s a bag of grain of many sorts, 
And other things beside; 

Now happy be the bridegroom, 

And happy be the bride!” 




Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 


14 


“And will you have her, Robin, 

To be your wedded wife?” 

“Yes, I will,” says Robin, 

“And love her all my life.” 

“And will you have him, Jenny, 

Your husband now to be?” 

“Yes, I will,” says Jenny, 

“And love him heartily.” 

Then on her finger fair 
Cock Robin put the ring; 

“You’re married now,” says Parson Rook, 
While the Lark aloud did sing: 

“Happy be the bridegroom, 

And happy be the bride! 

And may not man, nor bird, nor beast, 
This happy pair divide.” 

The birds were asked to dine; 

Not Jenny’s friends alone, 

But every pretty songster 

That had Cock Robin known. 

They had a cherry pie, 

Besides some currant wine, 

And every guest brought something, 

That sumptuous they might dine. 


Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 


15 


Now they all sat or stood 
To eat and to drink; 

And every one said what 
He happened to think; 
They each took a bumper, 
And drank to the pair: 
Cock Robin, the bridegroom, 
And Jenny Wren, the fair. 



The dinner-things removed, 
They all began to sing; 

And soon they made the place 
Near a mile round to ring. 

■ The concert it was fine; 

And every bird tried 
Who best could sing for Robin 
And Jenny Wren, the bride. 






16 Cock Robin and Jenny Wren 

Then in came the Cuckoo, 
And he made a great rout; 
He caught hold of Jenny, 

And pulled her about 
Cock Robin was angry, 

And so was the Sparrow, 
Who fetched in a hurry 
His bow and his arrow. 



His aim then he took, 

But he took it not right; 

His skill was not good, 

Or he shot in a fright; 

For the Cuckoo he missed, 

But Cock Robin killed! — 
And all the birds mourned 
That his blood was so spilled. 












THE BURIAL OF POOR COCK 
ROBIN 


Who killed Cock Robin? 

“I,” said the Sparrow,' 
“With my bow and arrow; 
And I killed Cock Robin.” 

Who saw him die? 

“I,” said the Fly, 

“With my little eye; 

And I saw him die.” 

Who caught his blood? 

“I,” said the Fish, 

“With my little dish; 

And I caught his blood.” 

Who made his shroud? 

“I,” said the Beetle, 

“With my little needle; 
And I made his shroud.” 

*7 








18 The Burial of Poor Cock Robin 


/ 





Who will be the parson ? 

“I,” said the Rook; 

“With my little book; 

And I will be the parson.” 

Who will dig his grave? 

“I,” said the Owl, 

“With my spade and shovel; 
And I’ll dig his grave.” 

Who will be the clerk? 

“I,” said the Lark, 

“If ’tis not in the dark; 

And I will be the clerk.” 

Who’ll carry him to the grave? 

“ I,” said the Kite, 

“If ’tis not in the night; 

And I’ll carry him to the grave.” 

Who will be the chief mourner? 
“I,” said the Dove, 

“Because of my love; 

And I will be chief mourner.” 



Who will sing a psalm; 
“I,” said the Thrush, 

As she sat in a bush; 
“And I will sing a psalm.” 





The Burial of Poor Cock Robin 


l 9 


Who will bear the pall? 

“We,” said the Wren, 

Both the Cock and the Hen; 
“And we will bear the pall.” 



Who will toll the bell? 

“I,” said the Bull, 

“Because I can pull.” 

And so Cock Robin farewell. 

All the birds of the air 

Fell to sighing and sobbing 
When they heard the bell toll 
For poor Cock Robin. 






THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG 



Once upon a time, an old woman was 
sweeping her little house, when, to her great 
joy, she found a silver sixpence. 

“What,” said she, “shall I do with this little 
sixpence? I think I will go to market and 
buy a pig.” So the next day, she went to 
market, and bought a nice little white pig. 
She tied a string to one of the pig’s legs, and 
began to drive him home. 

On the way, the old woman and her pig 
came to a stile, and she said,— 


20 












































































The Old Woman and Her Pig 


21 


“Please, pig, get over the stile.” 
But the pig would not. 




Just then a little dog came trotting up, and 
the old woman said to him,— 


“Dog, dog, bite pig; 

Pig won’t get over the stile, 

And I sha’n’t get home to-night.” 
But the dog would not. 


So the old woman held up her stick and 
said, — 

“Stick, stick, beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 

Pig won’t get over the stile, 

And I sha’n’t get home to-night.” 

But the stick would not. 

/‘ifT \\Mr 














22 The Old Woman and Her Pig 


So the old woman gathered some bits of 
wood together to make a fire, and set them 
on fire, and then threw her stick into the fire, 



\ 



So the old woman fetched a pail of water 
that was standing near, and said, — 

“Water, water, quench fire; 

Fire won’t burn stick; 

Stick won’t beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 

Pig won’t get over the stile, 

And I sha’n’t get home to-night.” 


But the water would not. 


The Old Woman and Her Pig 


2 3 


Then the old woman saw an ox coming; 
so she said,— 

“Ox, ox, drink water; 

Water won’t quench fire; 

Fire won’t burn stick; 

Stick won’t beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 

Pig won’t go; 

I see by the moonlight, 

It’s long past midnight; 

Time pig and I were home an hour 
and a half ago.” 

A* But the ox would not. ^ 






So the old woman turned round, and saw a 
butcher, and she said,— 

“Butcher, butcher, kill ox; 

Ox won’t drink water; 

Water won’t quench fire; 

Fire won’t burn stick; 

Stick won’t beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 





24 


The Old Woman and Her Pig 


Pig won’t go. 

I see by the moonlight, 

It’s long past midnight; 

Time pig and I were home an hour 
and a half ago.” 

^ But the butcher would not. 



So the old woman took a rope out of 
pocket, and said,— i 

“Rope, rope, hang butcher; 

Butcher won’t kill ox; 

Ox won’t drink water; 

Water won’t quench fire ; 

Fire won’t burn stick; 

Stick won’t beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 

Pig won’t go. 

I see by the moonlight, 

It’s long past midnight; 

Time pig and I were home an hour 
and a half ago.” 

But the rope would not. 


her 











The Old Woman and Her Pig 


2 5 


Just then a large brown mouse ran across 
the meadow, and she said,— ^ 

“Mouse, mouse, gnaw rope; 

Rope won’t hang butcher; 

Butcher won’t kill ox; 

Ox won’t drink water; 

Water won’t quench fire; 

Fire won’t burn stick; 

Stick won’t beat dog; 

Dog won’t bite pig; 

Pig won’t go. 

I see by the moonlight, 

It’s long past midnight; 

Time pig and I were home an hour and a 
half ago.” 

“Yes,” said the mouse, “I will if you 
will give me some cheese.” 



So the old woman put her hand in her 
pocket, and found a nice piece of cheese; and 
when the mouse had eaten it, 

The mouse began to gnaw the rope, 

The rope began to hang the butcher, 
The butcher began to kill the ox, 

The ox began to drink the water, 


26 The Old Woman and Her Pig. 


The water 7 began to quench the fire, 

The fire began to burn the stick, &*&{===*- 
The stick began to beat the dog, Sv 

The dog began to bite the pig, 

And the pig began to go. 





But what time the old woman and her pig 
got home, you, nor I, nor nobody knows. 






DAME WIGGINS OF LEE, AND 



HER SEVEN WONDERFUL CATS 














28 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



Dame Wiggins of Lee 
Was a worthy old soul, 

As e’er threaded a nee¬ 
dle, or wash’d in a bowl; 

She held mice and rats 
In such antipa-thy, 

That seven fine cats 
Kept Dame Wiggins of Lee. 


















Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 29 



The rats and mice scared 
By this fierce whisker’d crew, 
The poor seven cats 
Soon had nothing to do; 

So, as any one idle 
She ne’er loved to see, 

She sent them to school, 

Did Dame Wiggins of Lee. 

















o Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



The Master soon wrote 
That they all of them knew 
How to read the word “milk” 
And to spell the word “ mew.” 
And they all washed their faces 
Before they took tea: 

“Were there ever such dears!” 
Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 

























THE CATS MENDING THE CARFET. 
































































Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 31 



He had also thought well 
To comply with their wish 
To spend all their play-time 
In learning to fish 
For stitlings; they sent her 
A present of three, 

Which, fried, were a feast 
For Dame Wiggins of Lee. 












32 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



But soon she grew tired 
Of living alone ; 

So she sent for her cats 
From school to come home. 
Each rowing a wherry, 
Returning you see: 

The frolic made merry 
Dame Wiggins of Lee. 












Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 33 



The Dame was quite pleas’d 
And ran out to market; 

When she came back 
They were mending the carpet. 
The needle each handled 
As brisk as a bee; 

“Well done, my good cats,” 
Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 














34 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



To give them a treat, 

She ran out for some rice; 
When she came back, 

They were skating on ice. 

“I shall soon see one down, 
Aye, perhaps, two or three, 
I'll bet half-a-crown,” 

Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 











Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 35 



When spring-time came back 
They had breakfast of curds; 
And were greatly afraid 
Of disturbing the birds. 

“If you sit, like good cats, 

All the seven in a tree, 

They will teach you to sing !” 
Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 


















36 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



So they sat in a tree, 

And said “Beautiful! Hark!” 
And they listened and looked 
In the clouds for the lark. 
Then sang, by the fireside, 
Symphonious-ly 
A song without words 
To Dame Wiggins of Lee. 











Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 37 



They called the next day 
On the tomtit and sparrow, 

And wheeled a poor sick lamb 
Home in a barrow. 

“You shall all have some sprats 
For your humani-ty, 

My seven good cats,” 

Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 













38 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



While she ran to the field, 
To look for its dam, 

They were warming the bed 
For the poor sick lamb: 
They turned up the clothes 
All as neat as could be; 

“I shall ne’er want a nurse,” 
Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 




























Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 39 



She wished them good night, 
And went up to bed: 

When, lo! in the morning, 
The cats were all fled. 

But soon — what a fuss! 
“Where can they all be? 
Here, pussy, puss, puss!” 
Cried Dame Wiggins of Lee. 


























40 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



The Dame’s heart was nigh broke, 
So she sat down to weep, 

When she saw them come back 
Each riding a sheep: 

She fondled and patted 
Each purring tom-my: 

“Ah! welcome, my dears,” 

Said Dame Wiggins of Lee. 















Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 41 



The Dame was unable 
Her pleasure to smother, 
To see the sick lamb 
Jump up to its mother. 

In spite of the gout, 

And a pain in her knee, 

She went dancing about: 
Did Dame Wiggins of Lee. 








42 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



The Farmer soon heard 
Where his sheep went astray, 
And arrived at Dame’s door 
With his faithful dog Tray. 
He knocked with his crook, 
And the stranger to see, 

Out the window did look 
Dame Wiggins of Lee. 


















Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 43 



For their kindness he had them 
All drawn by his team; 

And gave them some field-mice, 
And raspberry cream. 

Said he, “All my stock 
You shall presently see; 

For I honor the cats 
Of Dame Wiggins of Lee.” 







44 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



He sent his maid out 

For some muffins and crumpets; 

And when he turn’d round 

They were blowing of trumpets. 

Said he, “I suppose 

She’s as deaf as can be, 

Or this ne’er could be borne 
By Dame Wiggins of Lee.” 















Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 45 



To show them his poultry, 

He turn’d them all loose, 

Then each nimbly leap’d 
On the back of a goose, 

Which frighten’d them so 
That they ran to the sea, 

And half-drown’d the poor cats 
Of Dame Wiggins of Lee. 











4 6 Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 



For the care of his lamb, 
And their comical pranks, 
He gave them a ham 
And abundance of thanks. 
‘‘I wish you good-day, 

My fine fellows,” said he; 
li My compliments, pray, 

To Dame Wiggins of Lee.” 

















Dame Wiggins and Her Seven Cats 47 



You see them arrived 
At their Dame’s welcome door; 
They show her their presents, 
And all their good store,, 

“Now come in to supper, 

And sit down with me; 

All welcome once more,” 

Cried Dame Wiggins of Lee. 




























THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT 



oameWiccins of lee and her''seven wonderful cats 




THE STORY OF THE THREE BEARS 


IX-NURSERY- CLASS IC 
























































THE LITTLE OLD WOMAN JUMPED OUT OF THE WINDOW. 















































































































V 





















The Story of the Three Bears 


49 


THE STORY OF THE THREE 
BEARS 



Once upon a time there were Three Bears, 
who lived together in a house of their own in 
a wood. One of them was a Little, Small, 
Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, 
and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They 
had each a pot for their porridge, a little pot 
for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle- 
sized pot for the Middle Bear; and a great 
pot for the Great, Huge Bear. And they had 
each a chair to sit in; a little chair for the 
Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized 
chair for the Middle Bear; and a great chair 
for the Great, Huge Bear, And they had each 
a bed to sleep in; a little bed for the Little, 
Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized bed for 


























50 The Story of the Three Bears 

the Middle Bear; and a great bed for the 
Great, Huge Bear. 

One day, after they had made the porridge 
for their breakfast, and poured it into their 
porridge-pots, they walked out into the wood 
while the porridge was cooling, that they 
might not burn their mouths, by beginning 
too soon to eat it. And while they were 
walking, a little old woman came to the 
house. She could not have been a good, 
honest old woman; for first,’ she looked in 
at the window, and then she peeped in at the 




















The Story of the Three Bears 51 

keyhole; and, seeing nobody in the house, 
she lifted the latch. The door was not 
fastened, because the bears were good bears, 
who did nobody any harm, and never sus¬ 
pected that anybody would harm them. So 
the little old woman opened the door and 
went in; and well pleased she was when she 
saw the porridge on the table. If she had 
been a good little old woman she would 
have waited till the bears came home, and 
then, perhaps, they would have asked her to 
breakfast; for they were good bears, — a little 
rough or so, as the manner of bears is, but for 
all that very good-natured and hospitable. 
But she was an impudent, bad old woman, 
and set about helping herself. 

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, 
Huge Bear, and that was too hot for her. And 
then she tasted the porridge of the Middle 
Bear, and that was too cold for her. And 
then she went to the porridge of the Little, 
Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that; and that was 
neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; 
and she liked it so well, that she ate it all up. 

Then the little old woman sat down in 
the chair of the Great, Huge Bear, and that 


52 The Story of the Three Bears 

was too hard for her. And then she sat 
down in the chair of the Middle Bear, and 
that was too soft for her. And then she sat 
down in the chair of the Little, Small, Wee 
Bear, and that was neither too hard nor too 



soft, but just right. So she seated herself in 
it, and there she sat till the bottom of the 
chair came out, and down came she, plump 
upon the ground. 

Then the little old woman went upstairs 
into the bed-chamber in which the three bears 
slept. And first she lay down upon the bed 










































The Story of the Three Bears 53 

of the Great, Huge Bear; but that was too 
high at the head for her. And next she lay 
down upon the bed of the Middle Bear; and 
that was too high at the foot for her. And 
then she lay down upon the bed of the Little, 



Small, Wee Bear; and that was neither too 
high at the head, nor at the foot, but just 
right. So she covered herself up comfortably, 
and lay there till she fell fast asleep. 

By this time the three bears thought their 
porridge would be cool enough; so they came 
home to breakfast. Now the little old woman 
























































54 


The Story of the Three Bears 


had left the spoon of the Great, Huge Bear, 
standing in his porridge. 

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY POR¬ 
RIDGE!” 



said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great rough, 
gruff voice. And when the Middle Bear 
looked at his, he saw that the spoon was stand¬ 
ing in it too. They were wooden spoons; if 
they had been silver ones, the naughty old 
woman would have put them in her pocket. 



























The Story of the Three Bears 55 

“Somebody Has Been At My Porridge l” 

said the Middle Bear, in his middle voice. 

Then the Little, Small, Wee Bear looked 
at his, and there was the spoon in the por¬ 
ridge-pot, but the porridge was all gone. 

“ Somebody has been at my porridge , and has eaten it 
all up!” 

said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, 
small, wee voice. 

Upon this the three bears, seeing that some 
one had entered their house, and eaten up 
the Little, Small, Wee Bear’s breakfast, be¬ 
gan to look about them. Now the little old 
woman had not put the hard cushion straight 
when she rose from the chair of the Great, 
Huge Bear. 

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN 
MY CHAIR!” 

said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, 
gruff voice. 

And the little old woman had squatted 
down the soft cushion of the Middle Bear. 

“Somebody Has Been Sitting In My Chair!” 
said the Middle Bear, in his middle voice. 


56 The Story of the Three Bears 

And you know what the little old woman 
had done to the third chair. 

“ Somebody has been sitting in my chair , and has sat 
the bottom of it out / ” 

said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, 
small, wee voice. 


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4 E.F.-J900- 


Then the three bears thought it necessary 
that they should make farther search; so they 
went upstairs into their bed-chamber. Now 
the little old woman had pulled the pillow of 
the Great, Huge Bear gut of its place. 


























































The Story of the Three Bears 57 

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY 
BED!" 

said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, 
gruff voice. 

And the little old woman had pulled the 
bolster of the Middle Bear out of its place. 

“Somebody Has Been Lying In My Bed!" 
said the Middle Bear in his middle voice. 



Ajid when the Little, Small, Wee Bear 
came to look at his bed, there was the bolster 
in its place, and the pillow in its place upon 



































































58 The Story of the Three Bears 

the bolster, and upon the pillow was the little 
old woman’s head,—which was not in its 
place, for she had no business there. 

“ Somebody has been lying in my bed, — and here she 
is ! ” 

said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, 
small, wee voice. 

The little old woman had heard in her sleep 
the great, rough, gruff voice of the Great, 
Huge Bear; but she was so fast asleep that 
it was no more to her than the roaring of 
wind, or the rumbling of thunder. And she 
had heard the middle voice of the Middle 
Bear, but it was only as if she had heard some¬ 
one speaking in a dream. But when she 
heard the little, small, wee voice of the Little, 
Small, Wee Bear, it was so sharp, and so 
shrill, that it awakened her at once. Up she 
started; and when she saw the Three Bears 
on one side of the bed, she tumbled herself 
out at the other, and ran to the window. Now 
the window was open, because the bears, like 
good, tidy bears as they were, always opened 
their bed-chamber window when they got up 
in the morning. Out the little old woman 


The Story of the Three Bears 


59 


jumped; and whether she broke her neck in 
the fall, or ran into the wood and was lost 



there, or found her way out of the wood and 
was taken up by the constable and sent to the 
House of Correction for a vagrant, as she was, 
I cannot tell. But the Three Bears never saw 
anything more of her. 





























Visitors from Dreamland. 


\ 


60 









































































The Tales of Mother Goose. 


CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS 
SLIPPER. 

Once upon a time there was a gentleman who 
married, for his second wife, the proudest and 
most haughty woman that ever was seen. She 
had two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, 
exactly like her in all things. The gentleman 
had also a young daughter, of rare goodness and 
sweetness of temper, which she took from her 
mother, who was the best creature in the world. 

The wedding was scarcely over, when the step¬ 
mother’s bad temper began to show itself. She 
could not bear the goodness of this young girl, be¬ 
cause it made her own daughters appear the more 
odious. The stepmother gave her the meanest 
work in the house to do ; she had to scour the 
dishes, tables, etc., and to scrub the floors and 
clean out the bedrooms. The poor girl had to 
sleep in the garret, upon a wretched straw bed, 
while her sisters lay in fine rooms with inlaid 
floors, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and 
where they had looking-glasses so large that they 

6l 


62 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


might see themselves at their full length. The 
poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not com¬ 
plain to her father, who would have scolded her 
if she had done so, for his wife governed him 
entirely. 

When she had done her work, she used to go 
into the chimney corner, and sit down among the 
cinders, hence she was called Cinderwench. The 
younger sister of the two, who was not so rude 
and uncivil as the elder, called her Cinderella. 
However, Cinderella, in spite of her mean apparel, 
was a hundred times more handsome than her 
sisters, though they were always richly dressed. 

It happened that the King’s son gave a ball, 
and invited to it all persons of fashion. Our 
young misses were also invited, for they cut a 
very grand figure among the people of the coun¬ 
try-side. They were highly delighted with the 
invitation, and wonderfully busy in choosing the 
gowns, petticoats, and head-dresses which might 
best become them. This made Cinderella’s lot 
still harder, for it was she who ironed her sisters’ 
linen and plaited their ruffles. They talked all 
day long of nothing but how they should be 
dressed. 

“ For my part,” said the elder, “ I will wear my 
red velveCsuit with French trimmings.” 

“ And I,” said the younger, “ shall wear my 
usual skirt; but then, to make amends for that, 



THE GLASS SUPPER OX CINDERELLA'S FOOT. 
















Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper. 63 

I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and my 
diamond stomacher, which is far from being the 
most ordinary one in the world.” They sent for 
the best hairdressers they could get to make up 
their hair in fashionable style, and bought patches 
for their cheeks. Cinderella was consulted in all 
these matters, for she had good taste. She ad¬ 
vised them always for the best, and even offered 
her services to dress their hair, which they were 
very willing she should do. 

As she was doing this, they said to her: — 

“ Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the 
ball ? ” 

“ Young ladies,” she said, “you only jeer at me; 
it is not for such as I am to go there.” 

“You are right,” they replied; “people would 
laugh to\see a Cinderwench at a ball.” 

Any one but Cinderella would have dressed 
their hair awry, but she was good-natured, and 
arranged it perfectly well. They were almost 
two days without eating, so much were they 
transported with joy. They broke above a dozen 
laces in trying to lace themselves tight, that they 
might have a fine, slender shape, and they were 
continually at their looking-glass. 

At last the happy day came ; they went to 
Court, and Cinderella followed them with her 
eyes as long as she could, and when she had lost 
sight of them, she fell a-crying. 


6 4 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked 
her what was the matter. 

“ I wish I could — I wish I could — ” but she 
could not finish for sobbing. 

Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, 
“ You wish you could go to the ball; is it not so ? ” 

“Alas, yes,” said Cinderella, sighing. , 

“ Well,” said her godmother, “ be but a good 
girl, and I will see that you go.” Then she took 
her into her chamber, and said to her, “ Run into 
the garden, and bring me a pumpkin.” 

Cinderella went at once to gather the finest she 
could get, and brought it to her godmother, not 
being able to imagine how this pumpkin could 
help her to go to the ball. Her godmother scooped 
out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the 
rind. Then she struck it with her wand, and the 
pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine gilded 
coach. 

She then went to look into the mouse-trap, 
where she found six mice, all alive. She ordered 
Cinderella to lift the trap-door, when, giving each 
mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, 
it was that moment turned into a fine horse, and 
the six mice made a fine set of six horses of a 
beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray. 

Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, 
“ I will go and see if there is not a rat in the rat- 
trap— we may make a coachman of him.” 


Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper. 65 

“You are right,” replied her godmother; “go 
and look.” 

Cinderella brought the rat-trap to her, and in 
it there were three huge rats. The fairy chose 
the one which had the largest beard, and, having 
touched him with her wand, he was turned into 
a fat coachman with the finest mustache and 
whiskers ever seen. 

After that, she said to her: — 

“ Go into the garden, and you will find six 
lizards behind the watering-pot; bring them to 
me.” 

She had no sooner done so than her godmother 
turned them into six footmen, who skipped up 
immediately behind the coach, with their liveries 
all trimmed with gold and silver, and they held 
on as if they had done nothing else their whole 
lives. 

The fairy then said to Cinderella, “ Well, you 
see here a carriage fit to go to the ball in; are 
you not pleased with it ? ” 

“ Oh, yes ! ” she cried ; “ but must I go as I am 
in these rags ? ” 

Her godmother simply touched her with her 
wand, and, at the same moment, her clothes were 
turned into cloth of gold and silver, all decked 
with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of the 
prettiest glass slippers in the whole world. Being 
thus attired, she got into the carriage, her god- 


66 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


mother commanding her, above all things, not to 
stay till after midnight, and telling her, at the 
same time, that if she stayed one moment longer, 
the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses 
mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, 
and her clothes would become just as they were 
before. 

She promised her godmother she would not 
fail to leave the ball before midnight. She drove 
away, scarce able to contain herself for joy. The 
King’s son, who was told that a great princess, 
whom nobody knew, was come, ran out to receive 
her. He gave her his hand as she alighted from 
the coach, and led her into the hall where the 
company were assembled. There was at once a 
profound silence; every one left off dancing, and 
the violins ceased to play, so attracted was every 
one by the singular beauties of the unknown new¬ 
comer. Nothing was then heard but a confused 
sound of voices saying: — 

“Ha! how beautiful she is! Ha! how beauti¬ 
ful she is! ” 

The King himself, old as he was, could not 
keep his eyes off her, and he told the Queen 
under his breath that it was a long time since he 
had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature. 

All the ladies were busy studying her clothes 
and head-dress, so that they might have theirs 
made next day after the same pattern, provided 


Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper. 67 

they could meet with such fine materials and able 
hands to make them. 

The King’s son conducted her to the seat of 
honor, and afterwards took her out to dance with 
him. She danced so very gracefully that they all 
admired her more and more. A fine collation 
was served, but the young Prince ate not a mor¬ 
sel, so intently was he occupied with her. 

She went and sat down beside her sisters, 
showing them a thousand civilities, and giving 
them among other things part of the oranges and 
citrons with which the Prince had regaled her. 
This very much surprised them, for they had not 
been presented to her. 

Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to 
twelve. She at once made her adieus to the 
company and hastened away as fast as she could. 

As soon as she got home, she ran to find her 
godmother, and, after having thanked her, she 
said she much wished she might go to the ball 
the next day, because the King’s son had asked 
her to do so. As she was eagerly telling her 
godmother all that happened at the ball, her two 
sisters knocked at the door; Cinderella opened 
it. “How long you have stayed!” said she, 
yawning, rubbing her eyes, and stretching herself 
as if she had been just awakened. She had not, 
however, had any desire to sleep since they went 
from home. 


68 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

“ If you had been at the ball,” said one of her 
sisters, “ you would not have been tired with it. 
There came thither the finest princess, the most 
beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes. She 
showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us 
oranges and citrons.” 

Cinderella did not show any pleasure at this. 
Indeed, she asked them the name of the princess; 
but they told her they did not know it, and that 
the King’s son was very much concerned, and 
would give all the world to know who she was. 
At this Cinderella, smiling, replied: — 

“ Was she then so very beautiful ? How fortu¬ 
nate you have been ! Could I not see her ? Ah ! 
dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow suit 
of clothes which you wear every day.” 

“ Ay, to be sure ! ” cried Miss Charlotte ; “ lend 
my clothes to such a dirty Cinderwench as thou 
art! I should be out of my mind to do so.” 

Cinderella, indeed,' expected such an answer 
and was very glad of the refusal; for she would 
have been sadly troubled if her sister had lent 
her what she jestingly asked for. The next day 
the two sisters went to the ball, and so did Cin¬ 
derella, but dressed more magnificently than be¬ 
fore. The King’s son was always by her side, 
and his pretty speeches to her never ceased. 
These by no means annoyed the young lady. 
Indeed, she quite forgot her godmother’s orders 


Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper. 69 

to her, so that she heard the clock begin to strike 
twelve when she thought it could not be more 
than eleven. She then rose up and fled, as 
nimble as a deer. The Prince followed, but 
could not overtake her. She left behind one of 
her glass slippers, which the Prince took up most 
carefully. She got home, but quite out of breath, 
without her carriage, and in her old clothes, hav¬ 
ing nothing left her of all her finery but one of 
the little slippers, fellow to the one she had 
dropped. The guards at the palace gate were 
asked if they had not seen a princess go out, and 
they replied they had seen nobody go out but a 
young girl, very meanly dressed, and who had more 
the air of a poor country girl than of a young lady. 

When the two sisters returned from the ball, 
Cinderella asked them if they had had a pleasant 
time, and if the fine lady had been there. They 
told her, yes; but that she hurried away the mo¬ 
ment it struck twelve, and with so much haste 
that she dropped one of her little glass slippers, 
the prettiest in the world, which the King’s son 
had taken up. They said, further, that he had 
done nothing but look at her all the time, and 
that most certainly he was very much in love 
with the beautiful owner of the glass slipper. 

What they said was true; for a few days after 
the King’s son caused it to be proclaimed, by 
sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whose 


70 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


foot this slipper would fit exactly. They began 
to try it on the princesses, then on the duchesses, 
and then on all the ladies of the Court; but in 
vain. It was brought to the two sisters, who 
did all they possibly could to thrust a foot into 
the slipper, but they could not succeed. Cin¬ 
derella, who saw this, and knew her slipper, said 
to them, laughing: — 

“ Let me see if it will not fit me.” 

Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to 
banter her. The gentleman who was sent to try 
the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and, 
finding her very handsome, said it was but just 
that she should try, and that he had orders to let 
every lady try it on. 

He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting 
the slipper to her little foot, he found it went on 
very easily, and fitted her as if it had been made 
of wax. The astonishment of her two sisters was 
great, but it was still- greater when Cinderella 
pulled out of her pocket the other slipper and 
put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her 
godmother, who, having touched Cinderella’s 
clothes with her wand, made them more mag¬ 
nificent than those she had worn before. 

And now her two sisters found her to be that 
beautiful lady they had seen at the ball. They 
threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for 
all their ill treatment of her. Cinderella took 



“ It went on very easily.” p. 70. 



























































72 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


them up, and, as she embraced them, said that she 
forgave them with all her heart, and begged them 
to love her always. 

She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed 
as she was. He thought her more charming than 
ever, and, a few days after, married her. Cinder¬ 
ella, who was as good as she was beautiful, gave 
her two sisters a home in the palace, and that very 
same day married them to two great lords of the 
Court. 


THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOODS. 

Once upon a time there was a king and a queen, 
who were very sorry that they had no children, — 
so sorry that it cannot be told. 

At last, however, the Queen had a daughter. 
There was a very fine christening; and the 
Princess had for her godmothers all the fairies 
they could find in the whole kingdom (there were 
seven of them,, so that every one of them might 
confer a gift upon her, as was the custom of fairies 
in those days By this means the Princess had 
all the perfections imaginable. 

After the christening was over, the company 
returned to the King’s palace, where was pre¬ 
pared a great feast for the fairies. There was 
placed before every one of them a magnificent 
cover with a case of massive gold, wherein were 
a spoon, and a knife and fork, all of pure gold set 
with diamonds and rubies. But as they were all 
sitting down at table they saw a very old fairy 
come into the hall. She had not been invited, 
because for more than fifty years she had not 
been out of a certain tower, and she was believed 
to be either dead or enchanted. 


73 


74 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


The King ordered her a cover, but he could 
not give her a case of gold as the others had, 
because seven only had been made for the seven 
fairies. The old fairy fancied she was slighted, and 
muttered threats between her teeth. One of the 
young fairies who sat near heard her, and, judging 
that she might give the little Princess some 
unlucky gift, hid herself behind the curtains as 
soon as they left the table. She hoped that she 
might speak last and undo as much as she could 
the evil which the old fairy might do. 

In the meanwhile all the fairies began to give 
their gifts to the Princess. The youngest gave 
her for her giP that she should be the most 
beautiful person in the world; the next, that she 
should have the wit of an angel; the third, that 
she should be able to do everything she did 
gracefully; the fourth, that she should dance 
perfectly ; the fifth, that she should sing like a 
nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play 
all kinds of musical instruments to the fullest 
perfection. 

The old fairy’s turn coming next, her head 
shaking more with spite than with age, she said 
that the Princess should pierce her hand with a 
spindle and die of the wound. This terrible gift 
made the whole company tremble, and every¬ 
body fell a-crying. 

At this very instant the young fairy came from 




The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 75 

behind the curtains and said these words in a loud 
voice: — 

“ Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that 
your daughter shall not die of this disaster. It 
is true, I have no power to undo entirely what 
my elder has done. The Princess shall indeed 
pierce her hand with a spindle; but, instead of 
dying, she shall only fall into a deep sleep, which 
shall last a hundred years, at the end of which 
a king’s son shall come and awake her.” 

The King, to avoid the misfortune foretold by 
the old fairy, issued orders forbidding any one, on 
pain of death, to spin with a distaff and spindle, 
or to have a spindle in his house. About fifteen 
or sixteen years after, the King and Queen being 
absent at one of their country villas, the young 
Princess was one day running up and down the 
palace; she went from room to room, and at last 
she came into a little garret on the top of the 
tower, where a good old woman, alone, was spin¬ 
ning with her spindle. This good woman had 
never heard of the King’s orders against spindles. 

“ What are you doing there, my good woman ? ” 
said the Princess. 

“ I am spinning, my pretty child,” said the old 
woman, who did not know who the Princess was. 

“ Ha! ” said the Princess, “ this is very pretty; 
how do you do it? Give it to me. Let me see 
if I can do it.” 


76 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, 
either because she was too quick and heedless, or 
because the decree of the fairy had so ordained, 
it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a 
swoon. 

The good old woman, not knowing what to do, 
cried out for help. People came in from every 
quarter; they threw water upon the face of the 
Princess, unlaced her, struck her on the palms of 
her hands, and rubbed her temples with cologne 
water; but nothing would bring her to herself. 

Then the King, who came up at hearing the noise, 
remembered what the fairies had foretold. He 
knew very well that this must come to pass, since 
the fairies had foretold it, and he caused the Prin¬ 
cess to be carried into the finest room in his pal¬ 
ace, and to be laid upon a bed all embroidered 
with gold and silver. One would have taken her 
for a little angel, she was so beautiful; for her 
swooning had not dimmed the brightness of 
her complexion: her cheeks were carnation, and 
her lips coral. It is true her eyes were shut, but 
she was heard to breathe softly, which satisfied 
those about her that she was not dead. 

The King gave orders that they should let her 
sleep quietly till the time came for her to awake. 
The good fairy who had saved her life by con¬ 
demning her to sleep a hundred years was in the 
kingdom of Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off, 




“Let me see if I can do it.” p. 75. 


l 

t 


77 


/ 












































































































78 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

when this accident befell the Princess; but she 
was instantly informed of it by a little dwarf, who 
had seven-leagued boots, that is, boots with which 
he could stride over seven leagues of ground at 
once. The fairy started off at once, and arrived, 
about an hour later, in a fiery chariot drawn by 
dragons. 

The King handed her out of the chariot, and 
she approved everything he had done; but as she 
had very great foresight, she thought that when 
the Princess should awake she might not know 
what to do with herself, if she was all alone in 
this old palace. This was what she did: she 
touched with her wand everything in the palace 
(except the King and Queen),—governesses, maids 
of honor, ladies of the bedchamber, gentlemen, offi¬ 
cers, stewards, cooks, undercooks, kitchen maids, 
guards with their porters, pages, and footmen; she 
likewise touched all the horses which were in the 
stables, the cart horses, the hunters and the saddle 
horses, the grooms, the great dogs in the outward 
court, and little Mopsey, too, the Princess’s 
spaniel, which was lying on the bed. 

As soon as she touched them they all fell 
asleep, not to awake again until their mistress, 
did, that they might be ready to wait upon her 
when she wanted them. The very spits at the 
fire, as full as they could hold of partridges and 
pheasants, fell asleep, and the fire itself as well. 


The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 79 

All this was done in a moment. Fairies are not 
long in doing their work. 

And now the King and Queen, having kissed 
their dear child without waking her, went out 
of the palace and sent forth orders that nobody 
should come near it. 

These orders were not necessary; for in a 
quarter of an hour’s time there grew up all round 
about the park such a vast number of trees, great 
and small, bushes and brambles, twining one 
within another, that neither man nor beast could 
pass through; so that nothing could be seen but 
the very top of the towers of the palace; and that, 
too, only from afar off. Every one knew that this 
also was the work of the fairy in order that while 
the Princess slept she should have nothing to fear 
from curious people. 

After a hundred years the son of the King then 
reigning, who was of another family from that of 
the sleeping Princess, was a-hunting on that side 
of the country, and he asked what those towers 
were which he saw in the middle of a great thick 
wood. Every one answered according as they 
had heard. Some said that it was an old haunted 
castle, others that all the witches of the country 
held their midnight revels there, but the common 
opinion was that it was an ogre’s dwelling, and 
that he carried to it all the little children he could 
catch, so as to eat them up at his leisure, without 


8o 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


any one being able to follow him, for he alone had 
the power to make his way through the wood. 

The Prince did not know what to believe, and 
presently a very aged countryman spake to him 
thus: — 

“ May it please your royal Highness, more than 
fifty years since I heard from my father that there 
was then in this castle the most beautiful princess 
that was ever seen; that she must sleep there 
a hundred years, and that she should be waked 
by a king’s son, for whom she was reserved.” 

The young Prince on hearing this was all on 
fire. He thought, without weighing the matter, 
that he could put an end to this rare adventure; 
and, pushed on by love and the desire of glory, 
resolved at once to look into it. 

As soon as he began to get near to the wood, 
all the great trees, the bushes, and brambles gave 
way of themselves to let him pass through. He 
walked up to the castle which he saw at the end 
of a large avenue; and you can imagine he was a 
good deal surprised when he saw none of his peo¬ 
ple following him, because the trees closed again 
as soon as he had passed through them. How¬ 
ever, he did not cease from continuing his way; a 
young prince in search of glory is ever valiant. 

He came into a spacious outer court, and what 
he saw was enough to freeze him with horror. 
A frightful silence reigned over all; the image of 


The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 81 

death was everywhere, and there was nothing to 
be seen but what seemed to be the outstretched 
bodies of dead men and animals. He, however, 
very well knew, by the ruby faces and pimpled 
noses of the porters, that they were only asleep; 
and their goblets, wherein still remained some 
drops of wine, showed plainly that they had 
fallen asleep while drinking their wine. 

He then crossed a court paved with marble, 
went up the stairs, and came into the guard 
chamber, where guards were standing in their 
ranks, with their muskets upon their shoulders, 
and snoring with all their might. He went 
through several rooms full of gentlemen and 
ladies, some standing and others sitting, but all 
were asleep. He came into a gilded chamber, 
where he saw upon a bed, the curtains of which 
were all open, the most beautiful sight ever be¬ 
held — a princess who appeared to be about 
fifteen or sixteen years of age, and whose bright 
and resplendent beauty had something divine in 
it. He approached with trembling and admira¬ 
tion, and fell down upon his knees before her. 

Then, as the end of the enchantment was 
come, the Princess awoke, and looking on him 
with eyes more tender than could have been 
expected at first sight, said : — 

“Is it you, my Prince? You have waited a 
long while.” 


82 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


The Prince, charmed with these words, and much 
more with the manner in which they were spoken, 
knew not how to show his joy and gratitude ; he 
assured her that he loved her better than he did 
himself. Their discourse was not very connected, 
but they were the better pleased, for where there 
is much love there is little eloquence. He was 
more at a loss than she, and we need not wonder 
at it; she had had time to think of what to say to 
him ; for it is evident (though history says nothing 
of it) that the good fairy, during so long a sleep, 
had given her very pleasant dreams. In short, 
they talked together for four hours, and then they 
said not half they had to say. 

In the meanwhile all the palace had woke up 
with the Princess ; every one thought upon his 
own business, and as they were not in love, they 
were ready to die of hunger. The lady of honor, 
being as sharp set as the other folks, grew very 
impatient, and told the Princess aloud that the 
meal was served. The Prince helped the Prin¬ 
cess to rise. She was entirely and very magnifi¬ 
cently dressed; but his royal Highness took care 
not to tell her that she was dressed like his great¬ 
grandmother, and had a high collar. She looked 
not a bit the less charming and beautiful for all that. 

They went into the great mirrored hall, where 
they supped, and were served by the officers of 
the Princess’s household. The violins and haut- 


The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 83 

boys played old tunes, but they were excellent, 
though they had not been played for a hundred 
years; and after supper, without losing any time, 
the lord almoner married them in the chapel of 
the castle. They had but very little sleep — the 
Princess scarcely needed any; and the Prince 
left her next morning to return into the city, 
where his father was greatly troubled about him. 

The Prince told him that he lost his way in 
the forest as he was hunting, and that he had 
slept in the cottage of a charcoal-burner, who 
gave him cheese and brown bread. 

The King, his father, who was a good man, 
believed him ; but his mother could not be per¬ 
suaded that it was true; and seeing that he went 
almost every day a-hunting, and that he always had 
some excuse ready for so doing, though he had 
been out three or four nights together, she began 
to suspect that he was married; for he lived thus 
with the Princess above two whole years, during 
which they had two children, the elder, a daughter, 
was named Dawn, and the younger, a son, they 
called Day, because he was a great deal handsomer 
than his sister. 

The Queen spoke several times to her son, to 
learn after what manner he was passing his time, 
and told him that in this he ought in duty to sat¬ 
isfy her. But he never dared to trust her with 
his secret; he feared her, though he loved her, 


84 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

for she was of the race of the Ogres, and the 
King married her for her vast riches alone. It 
was even whispered about the Court that she had 
Ogreish inclinations, and that, whenever she saw 
little children passing by, she had all the difficulty 
in the world to prevent herself from falling upon 
them. And so the Prince would never tell her 
one word. 

But when the King was dead, which happened 
about two years afterward, and he saw himself 
lord and master, he openly declared his marriage; 
and he went in great state to conduct his Queen 
to the palace. They made a magnificent entry 
into the capital city, she riding between her two 
children. 

Soon after, the King made war on Emperor 
Cantalabutte, his neighbor. He left the govern¬ 
ment of the kingdom to the Queen, his mother, 
and earnestly commended his wife and children 
to her care. He was obliged to carry on the war 
all the summer, and as soon as he left, the Queen- 
mother sent her daughter-in-law and her children 
to a country house among the woods, that she 
might with the more ease gratify her horrible 
longing. Some few days afterward she went 
thither herself, and said to her head cook: — 

“ I intend to eat little Dawn for my dinner 
to-morrow.” 

“ O ! madam! ” cried the head cook. 


The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 85 

“ I will have it so,” replied the Queen (and this 
she spoke in the tone of an Ogress who had a 
strong desire to eat fresh meat), “ and will eat her 
with a sharp sauce.” 

The poor man, knowing very well that he must 
not play tricks with Ogresses, took his great knife 
and went up into little Dawn’s chamber. She was 
then nearly four years old, and came up to him, 
jumping and laughing, to put her arms round his 
neck, and ask him for some sugar-candy. Upon 
which he began to weep, the great knife fell out 
of his hand, and he went into the back yard and 
killed a little lamb, and dressed it with such good 
sauce that his mistress assured him she had never 
eaten anything so good in her life. He had at 
the same time taken up little Dawn and carried 
her to his wife, to conceal her in his lodging at 
the end of the courtyard. 

Eight days afterwards the wicked Queen said 
to the chief cook, “ I will sup upon little Day.” 

He answered not a word, being resolved to cheat 
her again as he had done before. He went to 
find little Day, and saw him with a foil in his 
hand, with which he was fencing with a great 
monkey: the child was then only three years of 
age. He took him up in his arms and carried 
him to his wife, that she might conceal him in 
her chamber along with his sister, and instead 
of little Day he served up a young and very 


86 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


tender kid, which the Ogress found to be wonder¬ 
fully good. 

All had gone well up to now; but one evening 
this wicked Queen said to her chief cook : — 

“ I will eat the Queen with the same sauce I 
had with her children.” 

Now the poor chief cook was in despair and 
could not imagine how to deceive her again. 
The young Queen was over twenty years old, 
not reckoning the hundred years she had been 
asleep; and how to find something to take her 
place greatly puzzled him. He then decided, to 
save his own life, to cut the Queen’s throat; and 
going up into her chamber, with intent to do it 
at once, he put himself into as great fury as he 
possibly could, and came into the young Queen’s 
room with his dagger in his hand. He would 
not, however, deceive her, but told her, with a 
great deal of respect, the orders he had received 
from the Queen-mother. 

“ Do it; do it,” she said, stretching out her 
neck. “ Carry out your orders, and then I shall 
go and see my children, my poor children, whom 
1 loved so much and so tenderly.” 

For she thought them dead, since they had 
been taken away without her knowledge. 

“ No, no, madam,” cried the poor chief cook, 
all in tears ; “you shall not die, and you shall see 
your children again at once. But then you must 


The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods. 87 

go home with me to my lodgings, where I have 
concealed them, and I will deceive the Queen 
once more, by giving her a young hind in your 
stead.” 

Upon this he forthwith conducted her to his 
room, where, leaving her to embrace her children, 
and cry along with them, he went and dressed a 
young hind, which the Queen had for her supper, 
and devoured with as much appetite as if it had 
been the young Queen. She was now well satis¬ 
fied with her cruel deeds, and she invented a story 
to tell the King on his return, of how the Queen 
his wife and her two children had been devoured 
by mad wolves. 

One evening, as she was, according to her 
custom, rambling round about the courts and 
yards of the palace to see if she could smell any 
fresh meat, she -heard, in a room on the ground 
floor, little Day crying, for his mamma was going 
to whip him, because he had been naughty; and 
she heard, at the same time, little Dawn begging 
mercy for her brother. 

The Ogress knew the voice of the Queen and 
her children at once, and being furious at having 
been thus deceived, she gave orders (in a most 
horrible voice which made everybody tremble) 
that, next morning by break of day, they should 
bring into the middle of the great court a large 
tub filled with toads, vipers, snakes, and all sorts 


88 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


of serpents, in order to have the Queen and her 
children, the chief cook, his wife and maid, thrown 
into it, all of whom were to be brought thither 
with their hands tied behind them. 

They were brought out accordingly, and the 
executioners were just going to throw them into 
the tub, when the King, who was not so soon ex¬ 
pected, entered the court on horseback and asked, 
with the utmost astonishment, what was the 
meaning of that horrible spectacle. 

No one dared to tell him, when the Ogress, 
all enraged to see what had happened, threw 
herself head foremost into the tub, and was in¬ 
stantly devoured by the ugly creatures she had 
ordered to be thrown into it to kill the others. 
The King was of course very sorry, for she was 
his mother; but he soon comforted himself with 
his beautiful wife and his pretty children. 


THE MASTER CAT, OR PUSS IN BOOTS. 


Once upon a time there was a miller who left 
no more riches to the three sons he had than his 
mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soon 
made. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was 
sent for. They would soon have eaten up all 
the poor property. The eldest had the mill, the 
second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the 
cat. 

The youngest, as we can understand, was quite 
unhappy at having so poor a share. 

“ My brothers,” said he, “ may get their living 
handsomely enough by joining their stocks to¬ 
gether; but, for my part, when I have eaten up 
my cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I must 
die of hunger.” 

The Cat, who heard all this, without appearing 
to take any notice, said to him with a grave and 
serious air: — 

“ Do not thus afflict yourself, my master; you 
have nothing else to do but to give me a bag, and 
get a pair of boots made for me, that I may 
scamper through the brambles, and you shall see 

89 


90 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


that you have not so poor a portion in me as you 
think.” 

Though the Cat’s master did not think much 
of what he said, he had seen him play such cun¬ 
ning tricks to catch rats and mice — hanging 
himself by the heels, or hiding himself in the 
meal, to make believe he was dead — that he did 
not altogether despair of his helping him in his 
misery. When the Cat had what he asked for, 
he booted himself very gallantly, and putting his 
bag about his neck, he held the strings of it in 
his two forepaws, and went into a warren where 
was a great number of rabbits. He put bran and 
sow-thistle into his bag, and, stretching out at 
length, as if he were dead, he waited for some 
young rabbits, not yet acquainted with the deceits 
of the world, to come and rummage his bag for 
what he had put into it. 

Scarcely was he settled but he had what he 
wanted. A rash and foolish young rabbit jumped 
into his bag, .and Monsieur Puss, immediately 
drawing close the strings, took him and killed 
him at once. Proud of his prey, he went with it 
to the palace, and asked to speak with the King. 
He was shown upstairs into his Majesty’s apart¬ 
ment, and, making a low bow to the King, he 
said: — 

“ I have brought you, sire, a rabbit which my 
noble Lord, the Master of Carabas ” (for that was 


The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots. 9 T 

the title which Puss was pleased to give his mas¬ 
ter) “ has commanded me to present to your 
Majesty from him.” 

“ Tell thy master,” said the King, “ that I thank 
him, and that I am pleased with his gift.” 

Another time he went and hid himself among 
some standing corn, still holding his bag open; 
and when a brace of partridges ran into it, he 
drew the strings, and so caught them both. He 
then went and made a present of these to the 
King, as he had done before of the rabbit which 
he took in the warren. The King, in like man¬ 
ner, received the partridges with great pleasure, 
and ordered his servants to reward him. 

The Cat continued for two or three months 
thus to carry his Majesty, from time to time, 
some of his master’s game. One day when he 
knew that the King was to take the air along the 
riverside, with his daughter, the most beautiful 
princess in the world, he said to his master: — 

“ If you will follow my advice, youn fortune is 
made. You have nothing else to do but go 
and bathe in the river, just at the spot I shall 
show you, and leave the rest to me.” 

The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat ad¬ 
vised him to, without knowing what could be the 
use of doing it. While he was bathing, the King 
passed by, and the Cat cried out with all his 
might: — 


92 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


“ Help ! help ! My Lord the Marquis of Cara- 
bas is drowning ! ” 

At this noise the King put his head out of the 
coach window, and seeing the Cat who had so 
often brought him game, he commanded his 
guards to run immediately to the assistance of 
his Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. 

While they were drawing the poor Marquis out 
of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and 
told the King that, while his master was bathing, 
there came by some rogues, who ran off with his 
clothes, though he had cried out, “ Thieves! 
thieves! ” several times, as loud as he could. The 
cunning Cat had hidden the clothes under a great 
stone. The King immediately commanded the 
officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one of 
his best suits for the Lord Marquis of Carabas. 

The King was extremely polite to him, and as 
the fine clothes he had given him set off his good 
looks (for he was well made and handsome), the 
King’s daughter found him very much to her 
liking, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner 
cast two or three respectful and somewhat tender 
glances than she . fell in love with him to distrac¬ 
tion. The King would have him come into the 
coach and take part in the airing. The Cat, over¬ 
joyed to see his plan begin to succeed, marched 
on before, and, meeting with some countrymen, 
who were mowing a meadow, he said to them: — 



93 






















































































94 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


“ Good people, you who are mowing, if you 
do not tell the King that the meadow you 
mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, 
you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the 
pot.” 

The King did not fail to ask the mowers to 
whom the meadow they were mowing belonged. 

“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” answered 
they all together, for the Cat’s threat had made 
them afraid. 

“You have a good property there,” said the 
King to the Marquis of Carabas. 

“You see, sire,” said the Marquis, “this is a 
meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful 
harvest every year.” 

The Master Cat, who went still on before, met 
with some reapers, and said to them: — 

“ Good people, you who are reaping, if you do 
not say that all this corn belongs to the Marquis 
of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as 
herbs for-the pot.” 

The King, who passed by a moment after, 
wished to know to whom belonged all that corn, 
which he then saw. 

“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” replied the 
reapers, and the King was very well pleased with 
it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated 
thereupon. The Master Cat, who went always 
before, said the same thing to all he met, and the 


The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots. 95 

King was astonished at the vast estates of my 
Lord Marquis of Carabas. 

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, 
the master of which was an Ogre, the richest ever 
known; for all the lands which the King had 
then passed through belonged to this castle. The 
Cat, who had taken care to inform himself who 
this Ogre was and what he could do, asked to 
speak with him, saying he could not pass so near 
his castle without having the honor of paying 
his respects to him. 

The Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre 
could do, and made him sit down. 

“ I have been assured,” said the Cat, “ that you 
have the gift of being able to change yourself into 
all sorts of creatures you have a mind to; that 
you can, for example, transform yourself into a 
lion, or elephant, and the like.” 

“ That is true,” answered the Ogre, roughly; 
“and to convince you, you shall see me now 
become a lion.” 

Puss was .so terrified at the sight of a lion so 
near him that he immediately climbed into the 
gutter, not without much trouble and danger, 
because of his boots/which were of no use at 
all to him for walking upon the tiles. A little 
while after, when Puss saw that the Ogre had 
resumed his natural form, he came down, and 
owned he had been very much frightened. 


g6 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

“ I have, moreover, been informed,” said the 
Cat, “but I know not how to believe it, that 
you have also the power to take on you the 
shape of the smallest animals; fon example, to 
change yourself into a rat or a mouse, but I 
must own to you I take this to be impossible.” 

“ Impossible ! ” cried the Ogre; “ you shall see.” 
And at the same time he changed himself into 
a mouse, and began to run about the floor. Puss 
no sooner perceived this than he fell upon him 
and ate him up. 

Meanwhile, the King, who saw, as he passed, 
this fine castle of the Ogre’s, had a mind to go 
into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his 
Majesty’s coach coming over the drawbridge, 
ran out, and said to the King, “Your Majesty 
is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis 
of Carabas.” 

“ What! my Lord Marquis,” cried the King, 
“ and does this castle also belong to you ? There 
can be nothing finer than this courtyard and all 
the stately buildings which surround it; let us 
see the interior, if you please.” 

The Marquis gave his hand to the young 
Princess, and followed the King, who went first. 
They passed into the great hall, where they 
found a magnificent collation, which the Ogre 
had prepared for his friends, who were that 
very day to visit him, but dared not to enter, 


THE FAIRY. 


Once upon a time there was a widow who had 
two daughters. The elder was so much like her, 
both in looks and character, that whoever saw the 
daughter saw the mother. They were both so 
disagreeable and so proud that there was no liv¬ 
ing with them. The younger, who was the very 
picture of her father for sweetness of temper and 
virtue, was withal one of the most beautiful girls 
ever seen. As people naturally love their own 
likeness, this mother doted on her elder daughter, 
and at the same time had a great aversion for the 
younger. She made her eat in the kitchen and 
work continually. 

Among other things, this unfortunate child had 
to go twice a day to draw water more than a mile 
and a half from the house, and bring home a 
pitcherful of it. One day, as she was at this 
fountain, there came to her a poor woman, who 
begged of her to let her drink. 

“ Oh, yes, with all my heart, Goody,” said this 
pretty little girl. Rinsing the pitcher at once, she 
took some of the clearest water from the fountain, 
and gave it to her, holding up the pitcher all the 
while, that she might drink the easier. 


97 


98 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


The good woman having drunk, said to her: — 

“ You are so pretty, so good and courteous, that 
I cannot help giving you a gift.” For this was a 
fairy, who had taken the form of a poor country¬ 
woman, to see how far the civility and good man¬ 
ners of this pretty girl would go. “ I will give 
you for gift,” continued the Fairy, “ that, at every 
word you speak, there shall come out of your 
mouth either a flower or a jewel.” 

When this pretty girl returned, her mother 
scolded at her for staying so long at the fountain, 

“ I beg your pardon, mamma,” said the poor 
girl, “for not making more haste.” 

And in speaking these words there came out 
of her mouth two roses, two pearls, and two large 
diamonds. 

“ What is it I see there ? ” said her mother, 
quite astonished. “ I think pearls and diamonds 
come out of the girl’s mouth ! How happens this, 
my child ? ” 

This was the first time she had ever called her 
“ my child.” 

The girl told her frankly all the matter, not 
without dropping out great numbers of diamonds. 

“Truly,” cried the mother, “I must send my 
own dear child thither. Fanny, look at what 
comes out of your sister’s mouth when she speaks. 
Would you not be glad, my dear, to have the 
same gift ? You have only to go and draw water 



“With All my Heart, Goody.” p. 97 
99 


L.0FC. 













































































































































IOO 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


out of the fountain, and when a poor woman asks 
you to let her drink, to give it to her very 
civilly.” 

“ I should like to see myself going to the foun- 
tain to draw water,” said this ill-bred minx. 

“ I insist you shall go,” said the mother, “ and 
that instantly.” 

She went, but grumbled all the way, taking 
with her the best silver tankard in the house. 

She no sooner reached the fountain than she 
saw coming out of the wood, a magnificently 
dressed lady, who came up to her, and asked to 
drink. This was the same fairy who had appeared 
to her sister, but she had now taken the air and 
dress of a princess, to see how far this girl’s rude¬ 
ness would go. 

“ Am I come hither,” said the proud, ill-bred 
girl, “ to serve you with water, pray ? I suppose 
this silver tankard was brought purely for your 
ladyship, was it? However, you may drink out 
of it, if you have a fancy.” 

“You are scarcely polite,” answered the fairy, 
without anger. “Well, then, since you are so dis¬ 
obliging, I give you for gift that at every word 
you speak there shall come out of your mouth a 
snake or a toad.” 

So soon as her mother saw her coming, she 
cried out: — 

“ Well, daughter? ” 


The Fairy. 


IOI 


“Well, mother?” answered the unhappy girl, 
throwing out of her mouth a viper and a toad. 

“ Oh, mercy! ” cried the mother, “ what is it I 
see? It is her sister who has caused all this, 
but she shall pay for it,” and immediately she 
ran to beat her. The poor child fled away from 
her, and went to hide herself in the forest near by. 

The King’s son, who was returning from the 
chase, met her, and seeing her so beautiful, asked 
her what she did there alone and why she cried. 

“ Alas! sir, my mother has turned me out of 
doors.” 

The King’s son, who saw five or six pearls 
and as many diamonds come out of her mouth, 
desired her to tell him how that happened. She 
told him the whole story. The King’s son fell in 
love with her, and, considering that such a gift 
was worth more than any marriage portion another 
bride could bring, conducted her to the palace of 
the King, his father, and there married her. 

As for her sister, she made herself so much 
hated that her own mother turned her out of 
doors. The miserable girl, after wandering about 
and finding no one to take her in, went to a 
corner of the wood, and there died. 


BLUE BEARD. 


Once upon a time there was a man who had 
fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of 
silver and gold plate, carved furniture, and coaches 
gilded all over. But unhappily this man had a 
blue beard, which made him 30 ugly and so ter¬ 
rible that all the women and girls ran away from 
him. 

One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had 
two daughters who were perfect beauties. He 
asked for one of them in marriage, leaving to her 
the choice of which she would bestow on him. 
They would neither of them have him, and they 
sent him backward and forward from one to the 
other, neither being able to make up her mind to 
marry a man who had a blue beard. Another thing 
which made them averse to him was that he had 
already married several wives, and nobody knew 
what had become of them. 

Blue Beard, to become better acquainted, took 
them, with their mother and three or four of their 
best friends, with some young people of the 
neighborhood to one of his country seats, where 
they stayed a whole week. 

102 


I 


Blue Beard. . io 3 

There was nothing going on but pleasure par¬ 
ties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feast¬ 
ing. Nobody went to bed, but all passed the 
night in playing pranks on each other. In short, 
everything succeeded so well that the youngest 
daughter began to think that the beard of the 
master of the house was not so very blue, and 
that he was a very civil gentleman. So as soon as 
they returned home, the marriage was concluded. 

About a month afterward Blue Beard told his 
wife that he was obliged to take a country jour¬ 
ney for six weeks at least, upon business of great 
importance. He desired her to amuse herself 
well in his absence, to send for her friends, to take 
them into the country, if she pleased, and to live 
well wherever she was. 

“ Here,” said he, “are the keys of the two great 
warehouses wherein I have my best furniture: 
these are of the room where I keep my silver and 
gold plate, which is not in everyday use; these 
open my safes, which hold my money, both gold 
and silver; these my caskets of jewels; and this is 
the master-key to all my apartments. But as for 
this little key, it is the key of the closet at the 
end of the great gallery on the ground floor. 
Open them all; go everywhere; but as for that 
little closet, I forbid you to enter it, and I promise 
you surely that, if you open it, there’s nothing 
that you may not expect from my anger.” 


104 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


She promised to obey exactly all his orders; 
and he, after having embraced her, got into his 
coach and proceeded on his journey. 

Her neighbors and good friends did not stay 
to be sent for by the new-married lady, so great 
was their impatience to see all the riches of her 
house, not daring to come while her husband was 
there, because of .his blue beard, which frightened 
them. They at once ran through all the rooms, 
closets, and wardrobes, which were so fine and 
rich, and each seemed to, surpass all others. 
They went up into the warehouses, where was 
the best and richest furniture; and they could not 
sufficiently admire the number and beauty of the 
tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, 
and looking-glasses, in which you might see your¬ 
self from head to foot. Some of them were 
framed with glass, others with silver, plain and 
gilded, the most beautiful and the most magnifi¬ 
cent ever seen. 

They ceased not to praise and envy the happi¬ 
ness of their friend, who, in the meantime, was 
not at all amused by looking upon all these rich 
things, because of her impatience to go and open 
the closet on the ground floor. Her curiosity was 
so great that, without considering how uncivil it 
was to leave her guests, she went down a little 
back staircase, with such excessive haste that 
twice or thrice she came near breaking her neck. 



105 

























































io6 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

Having reached the closet-door, she stood still 
for some time, thinking of her husband’s orders, 
and considering that unhappiness might attend 
her if she was disobedient; but the temptation 
was so strong she could not overcome it. She 
then took the little key, and opened the door, 
trembling. At first she could not see anything 
plainly, because the windows were shut. After 
some moments she began to perceive that several 
dead women were scattered about the floor. 
(These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had 
married and murdered, one after the other, because 
they did not obey his orders about the closet on 
the ground floor.) She thought she surely would 
die for fear, and the key, which she pulled out 
of the lock, fell out of her hand. 

After having somewhat recovered from the 
shock, she picked up the key, locked the door, 
and went upstairs into her chamber to compose 
herself; but she could not rest, so much was she 
frightened. 

- Having observed that the key of the closet was 
stained, she tried two or three times to wipe off 
the stain, but the stain would not come out. In 
vain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap 
and sand. The stain still remained, for the key 
was a magic key, and she could never make it 
quite clean; when the stain was gone off from 
one side, it came again on the other. 


Blue Beard. 


107 


Blue Beard returned from his journey that 
same evening, and said he had received letters 
upon the road, informing him that the business 
which called him away was ended to his advan¬ 
tage. His wife did all she could to convince 
him she was delighted at his speedy return. 

Next morning he asked her for the keys, which 
she gave him, but with such a trembling hand 
that he easily guessed what had happened. 

“ How is it,” said he, “ that the key of my closet 
is not among the rest ? ” 

“ I must certainly,” said she, “ have left it up¬ 
stairs upon the table.” 

“ Do not fail,” said Blue Beard, “ to bring it to 
me presently.” 

After having put off doing it several times, she 
was forced to bring him the key. Blue Beard, 
having examined it, said to his wife: — 

“ How comes this stain upon the key ? ” 

“ I do not know,” cried the poor woman, paler 
than death. 

“You do not know!” replied Blue Beard. “I 
very well know. You wished to go into the 
cabinet? Very well, madam ; you shall go in, and 
take your place among the ladies you saw there.” 

She threw herself weeping at her husband’s 
feet, and begged his pardon with all the signs 
of a true repentance for her disobedience. She 
would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sor- 


108 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

rowful was she; but Blue Beard had a heart 
harder than any stone. 

“You must die, madam,” said he, “and that at 
once.” 

“ Since I must die,” answered she, looking upon 
him with her eyes all bathed in tears, “give me 
some little time to say my prayers.” 

“ I give you,” replied Blue Beard, “ half a 
quarter of an hour, but not one moment more.” 

When she was alone she called out to her 
sister, and said to her: — 

“ Sister Anne,” — for that was her name, — “ go 
up, I beg you, to the top of the tower, and look 
if my brothers are not coming; they promised 
me they would come to-day, and if you see them, 
give them a sign to make haste.” 

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the 
tower, and the poor afflicted wife cried out from 
time to time: — 

“ Anne, sister Anne, do you see any one com- 
ing?” 

And sister Anne said: — 

“ I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, 
and the grass, which looks green.” 

In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great 
sabre in his hand, cried to his wife as loud as he 
could: — 

“ Come down instantly, or I shall come up to 
you.” 


Blue Beard. 


IOQ 


“ One moment longer, if you please,” said his 
wife; and then she cried out very softly, “Anne, 
sister Anne, dost thou see anybody coming?” 

And sister Anne answered: — 

“ I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, 
and the grass, which is green.” 

“Come down quickly,” cried Blue Beard, “or I 
will come up to you.” 

“ I am coming,” answered his wife ; and then she 
cried, “ Anne, sister Anne, dost thou not see any 
one coming ? ” 

“ I see,” replied sister Anne, “ a great dust, 
which comes from this side.” 

“ Are they my brothers ? ” 

“ Alas! no, my sister, I see a flock of sheep.” 

“ Will you not come down ? ” cried Blue Beard. 

“ One moment longer,” said his wife, and then 
she cried out, “ Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see 
nobody coming ? ” 

“ I see,” said she, “ two horsemen, but they are 
yet a great way off.” 

“ God be praised,” replied the poor wife, joyfully; 
“ they are my brothers; I will make them a sign, 
as well as I can, for them to make haste.” 

Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he 
made the whole house tremble. The distressed 
wife came down, and threw herself at his feet, all 
in tears, with her hair about her shoulders. 

“ All this is of no help to you,” says Blue Beard ; 


no 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


“ you must die ”; then, taking hold of her hair 
with one hand, and lifting up his sword in the air 
with the other, he was about to take off her head. 
The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking 
at him with dying eyes, desired him to afford her 
one little moment to her thoughts. 

“No, no,” said he, “commend thyself to God,” 
and again lifting his arm — 

At this moment there was such a loud knocking 
at the gate that Blue Beard stopped suddenly. 
The gate was opened, and presently entered two 
horsemen, who, with sword in hand, ran directly 
to Blue Beard. He knew them to be his wife’s 
brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer. 
He ran away immediately, but the two brothers 
pursued him so closely that they overtook him 
before he could get to the steps of the porch. 
There they ran their swords through his body, and 
left him dead. The poor wife was almost as dead 
as her husband, and had not strength enough to 
arise and welcome her brothers. 

Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became 
mistress of all his estate. She made use of one 
portion of it to marry her sister Anne to a young 
gentleman who had loved her a long while; an¬ 
other portion to buy captains’ commissions for her 
brothers; and the rest to marry herself to a very 
worthy gentleman, who made her forget the sorry 
time she had passed with Blue Beard. 


LITTLE THUMB. 


Once upon a time there was a fagot-maker 
and his wife, who had seven children, all boys. 
The eldest was but ten years old, and the young¬ 
est only seven. 

They were very poor, and their seven children 
were a great source of trouble to them because 
not one of them was able to earn his bread. 
What gave them yet more uneasiness was that 
the youngest was Very delicate, and scarce ever 
spoke a word, which made people take for stu¬ 
pidity that which was a sign of good sense. He 
was very little, and when born he was no bigger 
than one’s thumb; hence he was called Little 
Thumb. 

The poor child was the drudge of the house¬ 
hold, and was always in the wrong. He was, 
however, the most bright and discreet of all the 
brothers; and if he spoke little, he heard and 
thought the more. 

There came a very bad year, and the famine 
was so great that these poor people resolved to 
rid themselves of their children. One evening, 
when they were in bed, and the fagot-maker was 
m 


112 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


sitting with his wife at the fire, he said to her, 
with his heart ready to burst with grief: — 

“ You see plainly that we no longer can give 
our children food, and I cannot bear to see them 
die of hunger before my eyes; I am resolved to 
lose them in the wood to-morrow, which may very 
easily be done, for, while they amuse themselves 
in tying up fagots, we have only to run away 
and leave them without their seeing us.” 

“ Ah! ” cried out his wife, “ could you really 
take the children and lose them ? ” 

In vain did her husband represent to her their 
great poverty ; she would not consent to it. She 
was poor, but she was their mother. 

However, having considered what a grief it 
would be to her to see them die of hunger, she 
consented, and went weeping to bed. 

Little Thumb heard all they had said; for, 
hearing that they were talking business, he got 
up softly and slipped under his father’s seat, so as 
to hear without being seen. He went to bed 
again, but did not sleep a wink all the rest of the 
night, thinking of what he had to do. He got up 
early in the morning, and went to the brookside, 
where he filled his pockets full of small white 
pebbles, and then returned home. They all went 
out, but Little Thumb never told his brothers a 
word of what he knew. 

They went into a very thick forest, where they 



“Slipped under his Father’s Seat,” 
113 















































































































114 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

could not see one another at ten paces apart. 
The fagot-maker began to cut wood, and the chil¬ 
dren to gather up sticks to make fagots. Their 
father and mother, seeing them busy at their 
work, got away from them unbeknown and then 
all at once ran as fast as they could through a 
winding by-path. 

When the children found they were alone, they 
began to cry with all their might. Little Thumb 
let them cry on, knowing very well how to get 
home again; for, as he came, he had dropped 
the little white pebbles he had in his pockets all 
along the way. Then he said to them, “ Do not 
be afraid, my brothers, — father and mother have 
left us here, but I will lead you home again; only 
follow me.” 

They followed, and he brought them home by 
the very same way they had come into the forest. 
They dared not go in at first, but stood outside 
the door to listen to what their father and mother 
were saying. 

The very moment the fagot-maker and his wife 
reached home the lord of the manor sent them 
ten crowns, which he had long owed them, and 
which they never hoped to see. This gave them 
new life, for the poor people were dying of 
hunger. The fagot-maker sent his wife to the 
butcher’s at once. As it was a long while since 
they had eaten, she bought thrice as much meat 


Little Thumb. 


ii5 

as was needed for supper for two people. When 
they had eaten, the woman said: — 

“Alas! where are our poor children now? 
They would make a good feast of what we have 
left here; it was you, William, who wished to 
lose them. I told you we should repent of it. 
What are they now doing in the forest ? Alas ! 
perhaps the wolves have already eaten them up; 
you are very inhuman thus to have lost your 
children.” 

The fagot-maker grew at last quite out of pa¬ 
tience, for she repeated twenty times that he 
would repent of it, and that she was in the right. 
He threatened to beat her if she did not hold her 
tongue. The fagot-maker was, perhaps, more 
sorry than his wife, but she teased him so he 
could not endure it. She wept bitterly, saying: — 
“ Alas! where are my children now, my poor 
children ? ” 

She said this once so very loud that the chil¬ 
dren, who were at the door, heard her and cried 
out all together: —• 

“ Here we are ! Here we are ! ” 

She ran immediately to let them in, and said as 
she embraced them : — 

“ How happy I am to see you again, my dear 
children; you are very tired and^very hungry, and, 
my poor Peter, you are covered with mud. Come 
in and let me clean you.” 


Ii6 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

Peter was her eldest son, whom she loved more 
than all the rest, because he was red haired, as 
she was herself. 

They sat down to table, and ate with an appe¬ 
tite which pleased both father and mother, to 
whom they told how frightened they were in the 
forest, nearly all speaking at once. The good 
folk were delighted to see their children once 
more, and this joy continued while the ten crowns 
lasted. But when the money was all spent, they 
fell again into their former uneasiness, and re¬ 
solved to lose their children again. And, that 
they might be the surer of doing it, they deter¬ 
mined to take them much farther than before. 

They could not talk of this so secretly but they 
were overheard by Little Thumb, who laid his 
plans to get out of the difficulty as he had done 
before; but, though he got up very early to go 
and pick up some little pebbles, he could not, for 
he found the house-door double-locked. He did 
not know what to do. Their father had given 
each of them a piece of bread for their breakfast. 
He reflected that he might make use of the bread 
instead of the pebbles, by throwing crumbs all 
along the way they should pass, and so he stuffed 
it in his pocket. Their father and mother led 
them into the thickest and most obscure part of 
the forest, and then, stealing away into a by-path, 
left them there. Little Thumb was not very 


Little Thumb. 


117 

much worried about it, for he thought he could 
easily find the way again by means of his bread, 
which he had scattered all along as he came; but 
he was very much surprised when he could not 
find a single crumb: the birds had come and 
eaten them all. 

They were now in great trouble; for the more 
they wandered, the deeper they went into the 
forest. Night now fell, and there arose a high 
wind, which filled them with fear. They fancied 
they heard on every side the howling of wolves 
coming to devour them. They scarce dared to 
speak or turn their heads. Then it rained very 
hard, which wetted them to the skin. Their feet 
slipped at every step, and they fell into the mud, 
covering their hands with it so that they knew 
not what to do with them. 

Little Thumb climbed up to the top of a tree, 
to see if he could discover anything. Looking on 
every side, he saw at last a glimmering light, like 
that of a candle, but a long way beyond the forest. 
He came down, and, when upon the ground, he 
he could see it no more, which grieved him sadly. 
However, having walked for some time with his 
brothers toward that side on which he had seen 
the light, he discovered it again as he came out 
of the wood. 

They arrived at last at the house where this 
candle was, not without many frights; for very 


ll % The Tales of Mother Goose. 

often they lost sight of it, which happened every 
time they came into a hollow. They knocked at 
the door, and a good woman came and opened it. 

She asked them what they wanted. Little 
Thumb told her they were poor children who 
were lost in the forest, and desired to lodge there 
for charity’s sake. The woman, seeing them all 
so very pretty, began to weep and said to them: 
“ Alas! poor babies, where do you come from ? 
Do you know that this house belongs to a cruel 
Ogre who eats little children ? ” 

“ Alas! dear madam,” answered Little Thumb 
(who, with his brothers, was trembling in every 
limb), “what shall we do? The wolves of the 
forest surely will devour us to-night if you refuse 
us shelter in your house; and so we would rather 
the gentleman should eat us. Perhaps he may 
take pity upon us if you will be pleased to ask 
him to do so.” 

The Ogre’s wife, wh'o believed she could hide 
them from her husband till morning, let them 
come in, and took them to warm themselves at 
a very good fire ; for there was a whole sheep 
roasting for the Ogre’s supper. 

As they began to warm themselves they heard 
three or four great raps at the door; this was the 
Ogre, who was come home. His wife quickly hid 
them under the bed and went to open the door c 
The Ogre at once asked if supper was ready and 


Little Thumb. 


119 

the wine drawn, and then sat himself down to 
table. The sheep was as yet all raw. but he liked 
it the better for that. He sniffed about to the 
right and left, saying: — 

“ I smell fresh meat.” 

“ What you smell,” said his wife, “ must be the 
calf which I have just now killed and flayed.” 

“ I smell fresh meat, I tell you once more,” 
replied the Ogre, looking crossly at his wife, “ and 
there is something here which I do not under¬ 
stand.” 

As he spoke these words he got up from the 
table and went straight to the bed. 

“ Ah ! ” said he, “that is how you would cheat 
me; I know not why I do not eat you, too; it is 
well for you that you are tough. Here is game, 
which comes very luckily to entertain three Ogres 
of my acquaintance who are to pay me a visit in 
a day or two.” 

He dragged them out from under the bed, one 
by one. The poor children fell upon their knees 
and begged his pardon, but they had to do with 
one of the most cruel of Ogres, who, far from 
having any pity on them, was already devouring 
them in his mind, and told his wife they would be 
delicate eating when she had made a good sauce. 

He then took a great knife, and, coming up to 
these poor children, sharpened it upon a great 
whetstone which he held in his left hand. He 


120 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


had already taken hold of one of them when his 
wife said to him : — 

“What need you do it now? Will you not 
have time enough to-morrow ? ” 

“ Hold your prating,” said the Ogre ; “they will 
eat the tenderer.” 

“ But you have so much meat already,” replied 
his wife; “ here are a calf, two sheep, and half a 
Pig-” 

“ That is true,” said the Ogre; “ give them a 
good supper that they may not grow thin, and 
put them to bed.” 

The good woman was overjoyed at this, and 
gave them a good supper; but they were so much 
afraid that they could not eat. As for the Ogre, 
he sat down again to drink, being highly pleased 
that he had the wherewithal to treat his friends. 
He drank a dozen glasses more than ordinary, 
which got up into his head and obliged him to go 
to bed. 

The Ogre had seven daughters, who were still 
little children. These young Ogresses had all of 
them very fine complexions; but they all had little 
gray eyes, quite round, hooked noses, a very large 
mouth, and very long, sharp teeth, set far apart. 
They were not as yet wicked, but they promised 
well to be, for they had already bitten little 
children. 

They had been put to bed early, all seven in 


Little Thumb. 


I 21 


one bed, with every one a crown of gold upon 
her head. There was in the same chamber a 
bed of the like size, and the Ogre’s wife put the 
seven little boys into this bed, after which she 
went to bed herself. 

Little Thumb, who had observed that the 
Ogre’s daughters had crowns of gold upon their 
heads, and was afraid lest the Ogre should repent 
his not killing them that evening, got up about 
midnight, and, taking his brothers’ bonnets and 
his own, went very softly and put them upon the 
heads of the seven little Ogresses, after having 
taken off their crowns of gold, which he put 
upon his own head and his brothers’, so that the 
Ogre might take them for his daughters, and his 
daughters for the little boys whom he wanted to 
kill. 

Things turned out just as he had thought; for 
the Ogre, waking about midnight, regretted that 
he had deferred till morning to do that which he 
might have done overnight, and jumped quickly 
out of bed, taking his great knife. 

“ Let us see,” said he, “ how our little rogues 
do, and not make two jobs of the matter.” 

He then went up, groping all the way, into 
his daughters’ chamber; and, coming to the bed 
where the little boys lay, and who were all fast 
asleep, except Little Thumb, who was terribly 
afraid when he found the Ogre fumbling about 


122 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


his head, as he had done about his brothers’, he 
felt the golden crowns, and said : — 

“ I should have made a fine piece of work of it, 
truly; it is clear I drank too much last night.” 

Then he went to the bed where the girls lay, 
and, having found the boys’ little bonnets: — 

“ Ah! ” said he, “ my merry lads, are you there ? 
Let us work boldly.” 

And saying these words, without more ado, he 
cruelly murdered all his seven daughters. Well 
pleased with what he had done, he went to bed 
again. 

So soon as Little Thumb heard the Ogre 
snore, he waked his brothers, and bade them put 
on their clothes quickly and follow him. They 
stole softly into the garden and got over the wall. 
They ran about all night, trembling all the while, 
without knowing which way they went. 

The Ogre, when he woke, said to his wife: 
“ Go upstairs and dress those young rascals who 
came here last night.” The Ogress was very 
much surprised at this goodness of her husband, 
not dreaming after what manner she should dress 
them; but, thinking that he had ordered her to 
go up and put on their clothes, she went, and 
was horrified when she perceived her seven 
daughters all dead. 

She began by fainting away, as was only natural 
in such a case. The Ogre, fearing his wife was 


Little Thumb. 


123 


too long in doing what he had ordered, went up 
himself to help her. He was no less amazed than 
his wife at this frightful spectacle. 

“ Ah ! what have I done ? ” cried he. “ The 
wretches shall pay for it, and that instantly.” 

He threw a pitcher of water upon his wife’s 
face, and having brought her to herself, “ Give 
me quickly,” cried he, “ my seven-leagued boots, 
that I may go and catch them.” 

He went out into the country, and, after run¬ 
ning in all directions, he came at last into the 
very road where the poor children were, and not 
above a hundred paces from their father’s house. 
They espied the Ogre, who went at one step from 
mountain to mountain, and over rivers as easily 
as the narrowest brooks. Little Thumb, seeing 
a hollow rock near the place where they were, 
hid his brothers in it, and crowded into it him¬ 
self, watching always what would become of the 
Ogre. 

The Ogre, who found himself tired with his 
long and fruitless journey (for these boots of 
seven leagues greatly taxed the wearer), had a 
great mind to rest himself, and, by chance, went 
to sit down upon the rock in which the little 
boys had hidden themselves. As he was worn out 
with fatigue, he fell asleep, and, after reposing 
himself some time, began to snore so frightfully 
that the poor children were no less afraid of him 


124 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


than when he held up his great knife and was 
going to take their lives. Little Thumb was not 
so much frightened as his brothers, and told them 
that they should run away at once toward home 
while the Ogre was asleep so soundly, and that 
they need not be in any trouble about him. They 
took his advice, and got home quickly. 

Little Thumb then went close to the Ogre, 
pulled off his boots gently, and put them on his 
own legs. The boots were very long and large, 
but as they were fairy boots, they had the gift of 
becoming big or little, according to the legs of 
those who wore them; so that they fitted his feet 
and legs as well as if they had been made for him. 
He went straight to the Ogre’s house, where he 
saw his wife crying bitterly for the loss of her 
murdered daughters. 

“Your husband,” said Little Thumb, “is in 
very great danger, for he has been taken by a 
gang of thieves, who have sworn to kill him if he 
does not give them all his gold and silver. At 
the very moment they held their daggers at his 
throat he perceived me and begged me to come 
and tell you the condition he was in, and to say 
that you should give me all he has of value, with¬ 
out retaining any one thing; for otherwise they 
will kill him without mercy. As his case is very 
pressing, he desired me to make use of his seven- 
leagued boots, which you see I have on, so that I 


Little Thumb. 


125 


might make the more haste and that I might show 
you that I do not impose upon you.” 

The good woman, being greatly frightened, gave 
him all she had; for this Ogre was a very good 
husband, though he ate up little children. Little 
Thumb, having thus got all the Ogre’s money, 
came home to his father’s house, where he was 
received with abundance of joy. 

There are many people who do not agree in re¬ 
gard to this act of Little Thumb’s, and pretend that 
he never robbed the Ogre at all, and that he only 
thought he might very justly take off his seven- 
leagued boots because he made no other use of 
them but to run after little children. These folks 
affirm that they are very well assured of this, be¬ 
cause they have drunk and eaten often at the 
fagot-maker’s house. They declare that when 
Little Thumb had taken off the Ogre’s boots he 
went to Court, where he was informed that they 
were very much in trouble about a certain army, 
which was two hundred leagues off, and anxious 
as to the success of a battle. He went, they say, 
to the King and told him that if he desired it, 
he would bring him news from the army before 
night. 

The King promised him a great sum of money 
if he succeeded. Little Thumb returned that very 
same night with the news; and, this first expedi¬ 
tion causing him to be known, he earned as much 


126 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


as he wished, for the King paid him very well for 
carrying his orders to the army. Many ladies 
employed him also to carry messages, from which 
he made much money. After having for some 
time carried on the business of a messenger and 
gained thereby great wealth, he went home to his 
father, and it is impossible to express the joy of 
his family. He placed them all in comfortable 
circumstances, bought places, for his father and 
brothers, and by that means settled them very 
handsomely in the world, while he successfully 
continued to make his own way. 


LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD. 


Once upon a time there lived in a certain 
village a little country girl, the prettiest creature 
that ever was seen. Her mother was very fond 
of her, and her grandmother loved her still more. 
This good woman made for her a little red riding- 
hood, which became the girl so well that every¬ 
body called her Little Red Riding-hood. 

One day her mother, having made some cus¬ 
tards, said to her: — 

“ Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother 
does, for I hear she has been very ill; carry her 
a custard and this little pot of butter.” 

Little Red Riding-hood set out immediately 
to go to her grand mothers, who lived in another 
village. 

As she was going through the wood, she met 
Gaffer Wolf, who had a very great mind to eat 
her up; but he dared not, because of some fagot- 
makers hard by in the forest. He asked her 
whither she was going. The poor child, who 
did not know th^t it was dangerous to stay and 
hear a wolf talk, said to him: — 

“ I am going to see my grandmother, and carry 


127 



*»£ X % 


“She met with Gaffer Wolf.” p. 127 


128 





























Little Red Riding-hood. I2 9 

her a custard and a little pot of butter from my 
mamma.” 

“ Does she live far off? ” said the Wolf. 

“.Oh, yes,” answered Little Red Riding-hood; 
“it is beyond that mill you see there, the first 
house you come to in the village.” 

“ Well,” said the Wolf, “ and I’ll go and see her, 
too. I’ll go this way, and you go that, and we 
shall see who will be there first.” 

The Wolf began to run as fast as he could, 
taking the shortest way, and the little girl went 
by the longest way, amusing herself by gathering 
nuts, running after butterflies, and making nose¬ 
gays of such little flowers as she met with. The 
Wolf was not long before he reached the old 
woman’s house. He knocked at the door — tap, 
tap, tap. 

“ Who’s there ? ” called the grandmother. 

“Your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood,” 
replied the Wolf, imitating her voice, “who has 
brought a custard and a little pot of butter sent 
to you by mamma.” 

The good grandmother, who was in bed, be¬ 
cause she was somewhat ill, cried out: — 

“ Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.” 

The Wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door 
opened. He fell upon the good woman and ate 
her up in no time, for he had not eaten anything 
for more than three days. He then shut the 


130 The Tales of Mother Goose. 

door, went into the grandmother’s bed, and waited 
for Little Red Riding-hood, who came sometime 
afterward and knocked at the door — tap, tap, 
tap. 

“ Who’s there ? ” called the Wolf. 

Little Red Riding-hood, hearing the big voice 
of the Wolf, was at first afraid; but thinking her 
grandmother had a cold, answered : — 

“ ’Tis your grandchild, Little Red Riding-hood, 
who has brought you a custard and a little pot of 
butter sent to you by mamma.” 

The Wolf cried out to her, softening his voice 
a little : — 

“ Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.” 

Little Red Riding-hood pulled the bobbin, and 
the door opened. 

The Wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, 
hiding himself under the bedclothes: — 

“ Put the custard and the little pot of butter 
upon the stool, and come and lie down with me.” 

Little Red Riding-hood undressed herself and 
went into bed, where she was much surprised to 
see how her grandmother looked in her night¬ 
clothes. 

She said to her: — 

“ Grandmamma, what great arms you have 
got!” 

“ That is the better to hug thee, my dear.” 

“ Grandmamma, what great legs you have got! ” 



“He fell upon the Good Woman.” p. 129 


131 





















































































































T 3 2 


The Tales of Mother Goose. 


“ That is to run the better, my child.” 

“ Grandmamma, what great ears you have got! ” 

“ That is to hear the better, my child.” 

“ Grandmamma, what great eyes you have got! ” 

“ It is to see the better, my child.” 

“ Grandmamma, what great teeth you have 
got!” 

“ That is to eat thee up.” 

And, saying these words, this wicked Wolf fell 
upon Little Red Riding-hood, and ate her all up. 

Then he lay down in the bed, and soon snored 
so loud that a hunter who passed the house, 
stopped to see whether granny was ill. 

When he saw the wolf in the bed, he quickly 
leveled his gun, but thought better, because the 
old lady might still be alive in the wolf’s big 
stomach. So he found her scissors in the work 
basket and cut the wolfs body open. 

You can imagine how surprised the hunter 
was when a bright red cap was the first thing he 
found in the wolf’s body. Yes, and the little 
girl was alive, and so was her grandmother, for 
the wolf had swallowed them whole. 

When they had thanked the hunter properly, 
he and Little Red Riding-hood filled the wolf’s 
stomach with cobble stones, grandma sewed him 
up, and when he awoke, very thirsty, and bent 
over the cistern to drink, the rocks pulled him 
over and he fell in and was drowned. 


DAYS AND NIGHTS, WEEKS AND MONTHS 
AND YEARS, TIME AND THE 
WEATHER, ETC. 


MOTHER STORIES 


They that wash on Monday 
Have all the week to dry; 

They that wash on Tuesday 
Are not so much awry; 

They that wash on Wednesday 
Are not so much to blame; 

They that wash on Thursday, 

Wash for very shame; - 
They that wash on Friday, 

Must only wash in need ; 

And they that wash on Saturday, 

Are lazy folks indeed. 

How many days has my baby to play ? 

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 
Saturday, Sunday, Monday. 

133 





i34 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



A diller, a dollar, 

A ten o’clock scholar, 

What makes you come so soon ? 

You used to come at ten o’clock, 
And now you come at noon. 


He that would thrive 
Must rise at five ; 










MOTHER STORIES x 35 

He that hath thriven 
May lie till seven ; 

And he that by the plough would thrive, 
Himself must either hold or drive. 


Cock crows in the morn, 
To tell us to rise, 

And he who lies late 
Will never be wise. 
For early to bed, 

And early to rise, 

Is the way to be healthy 
And wealthy and wise. 


Solomon Grundy, 
Born on a Monday, 
Christened on Tuesday, 
Married on Wednesday, 
Took ill on Thursday, 

Worse on Friday, 

Died on Saturday. 

Buried on Sunday, 



i 


WERE tlES f 1 
y£ "QODy £ of 
<5©lo*V>©n 
■R1LD ©<n»- 

V.*‘ 


This is the end 
Of Solomon Grundy! 







136 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



Monday's child is fair of face, 

Tuesday’s child is full of grace. 
Wednesday’s child is full of woe, 
Thursday’s child has far to go, 

Friday’s child is loving and giving, 
Saturday’s child works hard for its living ; 
And a child that’s born on Christmas Day 
Is fair and wise, good and gay. 


If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for 
danger; 

Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger; 
Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter; 
Sneeze on a Thursday, something better; 
Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow; 
Sneeze on a Saturday, joy to-morrow. 





MOTHER STORIES 


07 


As John and Jane 
Walked through the lane, 
One very pleasant Sunday, 
Said John to Jane, 

“ Unless it rain, 
To-morrow will be Monday.” 



Daffy-down-dilly 
Has come up to town, 
In a yellow petticoat 
And a green gown. 



138 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



March winds and April showers 
Bring forth May flowers. 











MOTHER STORIES 


i39 


In April’s sweet month, 
When leaves begin to spring, 
Little lambs skip like fairies, 
And birds build and sing. 

A sunshiny shower, 

Won’t last half an hour. 


Thirty days hath September, 

April, June, and November; 

February has twenty-eight alone, 

All the rest have thirty-one, 

Excepting Leap-year, that’s the time 
When February’s days are twenty-nine. 


The fair maid who, the first of May, 

Goes to the fields at break of day, 

And washes in dew from the hawthorn-tree, 
Will ever after handsome be. 


“ Shake a leg, wag a leg, when will you 
gang?” 

"At midsummer, mother, when the days 
are lang.” 






i4o A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



“Willy boy, Willy boy, where are you 
going ? 

I will go with you, if that I may.” 

“ I’m going to the meadow to see them 
a-mowing, 

I’m going to help them to make the hay.” 









MOTHER STORIES 


141 

A swarm of bees in May 
Is worth a load of hay; 

A swarm of bees in June 
Is worth a silver spoon; 

A swarm of bees in July 
Is not worth a fly. 

Bounce Buckram, velvet s dear; 
Christmas comes but once a year. 


Sing, song, the days are long, 

The woodcock and the sparrow; 

The little dog has burnt his tail, 

And he shall be whipped to-morrow. 


Rain, rain, go away, 

Come again another day, 
Little Charlie wants to play. 


As the days grow longer 
The storms grow stronger. 

When the days begin to lengthen 
Then the cold begins to strengthen. 







142 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



“ What’s the news of the day, 
Good neighbor, I pray ? ” 














MOTHER STORIES 


M3 


“ They say the balloon 
Is gone up to the moon 1 ” 


Blow, wind, blow 1 and 
go, mill, go ! 

That the miller may 
grind his corn ; 

That the baker may take 
it, 

And into rolls make it, 

And send us some hot 
in the morn. 

Evening red and morning gray 
Sets the traveller on his way. 


When the wind is in the east, 

’T is good for neither man nor beast; 
When the wind is in the north, 

The skilful fisher goes not forth; 
When the wind is in the south, 

It blows the bait in the fishes’ mouth; 
When the wind is in the west, 

Then’t is at the very best. 

7 








i44 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



One misty, moisty morning 
When cloudy was the weather, 

I chanced to meet an old man 
Clothed all in leather; 

Clothed all in leather, 

With cap under his chin, — 

How do you do, and how do you do, 
And how do you do again ? 




MOTHER STORIES 


i45 



Bring the hoop, and bring the ball, 
Come with happy faces all; 

Let us make a merry ring, 

Talk and laugh, and dance and sing. 
Quickly, quickly, come away, 

For it is a pleasant day. 


Rainbow at night 
Is the sailors delight; 
Rainbow in the morning, 
Sailors, take warning. 



146 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

Arthur O’Bower has broken his band, 
And he comes roaring up the land; 
King of Scots with all his power, 
Cannot turn Arthur of the Bower. 



Sister Grace reading from the 
Childhood Classics. 












PLAYS, GAMES, RIDDLES, COUNTING-OUT 
RHYMES, ETC. 


CHILD PLAY 



Here we go round the bramble-bush, 
The bramble-bush, the bramble-bush; 
Here we go round the bramble-bush, 

On a cold and frosty morning! 

147 







48 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



This is the way we wash our clothes, 
Wash our clothes, wash our clothes; 
This is the way we wash our clothes, 
On a cold and frosty morning! 



Dry our clothes, dry our clothes; 
This is the way we dry our clothes 
On a cold and frosty morning! 
















CHILD PLAY 


149 



This is the way we mend our 
shoes, 

Mend our shoes, mend our 
shoes; 

This is the way we mend our 
shoes, 

On a cold and frosty morning ! 


This is the way the ladies walk, 
Ladies walk, ladies walk; 

This is the way the ladies walk, 
On a cold and frosty morning! 


This is the way the gentlemen 
walk, 

Gentlemen walk, gentlemen 
walk ; 

This is the way the gentlemen 
walk, 

On a cold and frosty morning I 




i5o A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 







CHILD PLAY 


151 

Girls and boys, come out to play, 

The moon doth shine as bright as day; 
Leave your supper and leave your sleep, 
And come with your playfellows into the 
street. 

Come with a whoop, come with a call, 
Come with a good will or not at all 
Up the ladder and down the wall, 

A halfpenny roll will serve us all. 

You find milk, and I ’ll find flour, 

And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour. 


A child hides something in one hand, and then places 
both fists endways on each other, saying, — 

HANDY-dandy riddledy ro, 

Which will you have, high or low? 

Or sometimes the following, — 

Handy-dandy, Jack-a-dandy, 

Which good hand will you have ? 

The party addressed either touches one hand, or 
guesses in which one the article (whatever it may be) is 
placed. If he guesses rightly, he wins its contents; if 
wrongly, he loses an equivalent. 



I 5 2 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

Here comes a poor woman from Baby-land, 
With three small children in her hand: 
One can brew, the other can bake, 

The other can make a pretty round cake; 
One can sit in the garden and spin, 
Another can make a fine bed for the King; 
Pray, ma’am, will you take one in ? 


Now'we dance looby, looby, looby, 
Now we dance looby, looby, light; 
Shake your right hand a little, 

And turn you round about. 

Now we dance looby, looby, looby, 
Shake your right hand a little, 
Shake your left hand a little, 

And turn you round about. 

Now we dance looby, looby, looby, 
Shake your right hand a little, 
Shake your left hand a little, 
Shake your right foot a little, 

And turn you round about. 



CHILD PLAY 


*53 


Now we dance looby, looby, looby, 
Shake your right hand a little, 
Shake your left hand a little, 
Shake your right foot a little, 
Shake your left foot a little, 

And turn you round about. 

Now we dance looby, looby, looby, 
Shake your right hand a little, 
Shake your left hand a little, 
Shake your right foot a little, 
Shake your left foot a little, 

Shake your head a little, 

And turn you round about. 


Gay go up and gay go down, 

To ring the bells of London town. 

“ Bulls eyes and targets,” 

Say the bells of St. Marg’rets. 

“ Brickbats and tiles,” 

Say the bells of St. Giles’. 



154 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



“■Halfpence and farthings,” 
Say the bells of St. Martin’s. 


“ Orange and lemons,” 

Say the bells of St. Clement’s. 

“ Pancakes and fritters,” 

Say the bells of St. Peter’s. 


“Two sticks and an apple,” 
Say the bells at Whitechapel. 










CHILD PLAY 


155 


"Old Father Baldpate,” 

Say the slow bells at Aldgate. 

“You owe me ten shillings,” 

Say the bells at St. Helen’s. 

“ Pokers and tongs,” 

Say the bells at St. John’s. 

“ Kettles and pans,” 

Say the bells at St. Ann’s. 

“ When will you pay me ? ” 

Say the bells of Old Bailey. 

“ When I grow rich,” 

Say the bells of Shoreditch. 

“ Pray when will that be ?” 

Say the bells of Stepney. 

“ I am sure I don’t know,” 

Says the great bell at Bow. 

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, 
And here comes a chopper to chop off your 
head. 


156 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



London bridge is broken down, 

Dance over, my Lady Lee; 







CHILD PLAY 157 

London bridge is broken down, 

With a gay lady. 

How shall we build it up again? 

Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

How shall we build it up again ? 

With a gay lady. 

Build it up with silver and gold, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Build it up with silver and gold, 

With a gay lady. 

Silver and gold will be stolen away, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Silver and gold may be stolen away, 
With a gay lady. 

Build it up again with iron and steel, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Build it up with iron and steel, 

With a gay lady. 

Iron and steel will bend and bow, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 


158 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

Iron and steel will bend and bow, 
With a gay lady. 

Build it up with wood and clay, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Build it up with wood and clay, 
With a gay lady. 

Wood and clay will wash away, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Wood and clay will wash away, 
With a gay lady. 

Build it up with stone so strong, 
Dance over, my Lady Lee; 

Huzza ! ’t will last for ages long, 
With a gay lady. 


When a twister a-twisting would twist him 
a twist; 

For twisting a twist, three twists he will 
twist, 

But if one of the twists untwists from the 
twist, 

The twist untwisting untwists the twist. 




PLAYING "LONDON BRIDGE.” 














CHILD PLAY 


159 


Untwirling the twine that untwisteth be¬ 
tween, 

He twirls with the twister the two in a 
twine; 

Then twice having twisted the twines of 
the twine, 

He twisteth the twine he had twined in 
twain. 

The twain that, in twining, before in the 
twine, 

As twines were intwisted, he now doth 
untwine; 

’Twixt the twain intertwisting a twine more 
between, 

He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of 
the twine. 


Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled 
peppers; 

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper 
picked; 

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled 
peppers, 

Where ’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter 
Piper picked ? 


8 



x6o A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


Apple-pie, pudding, and pancake, 
All begin with A. 


Thirty white horses upon a red hill, 

Now they tramp, now they champ, now 
they stand still. Teeth and gums. 


Black within and red without; 
Four corners round about. 

A chimney. 



Little Nancy Etticoat, 

In a white petticoat, 

And a red nose; 

The longer she stands, 

The shorter she grows. 

A candle. 


As round as an apple, as deep as a cup, 
And all the King’s horses can’t pull it up. 

A well. 


Long legs, crooked thighs, 

Little head, aftd no eyes. 

Pair of tongs. 







CHILD PLAY 


161 



What shoemaker makes shoes without 


leather, 

With all the four elements put together? 
Fire and water, earth and air, 

Every customer takes two pair. 

Blacksmith. 













162 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 












CHILD PLAY 


163 


There was a man who had no eyes, 

He went abroad to view the skies; 

He saw a tree with apples on it. 

He took no apples off, yet left no apples 
on it. 

Pease-porridge hot, pease-porridge cold, 
Pease-porridge in the pot, nine days old. 
Spell me that without a P, 

And a clever scholar you will be. 


Thomas ATattamus took two T s, 

To tie two tups to two tall trees, 

To frighten the terrible Thomas A’ 
Tattamus — 

Tell me how many T’s are in that? 


In marble walls as white as milk, 
Lined with a skin as soft as silk; 
Within a fountain crystal clear, 

A golden apple doth appear. 

No doors there are to this stronghold, 
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. 

E SS' 





64 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


Black we are, but much admired, 
Men seek for us till they are tired, 
We tire the horse but comfort man; 
Tell me this riddle if you can. 

Coal. 


Higher than a house, higher than a tree, 
Oh, whatever can that be ? 

A star. 



Formed long ago, yet made to-day, 
Employed while others sleep; 
What few would like to give away, 
Nor any wish to keep. 


A bed. 






CHILD PLAY 165 

Down in a dark dungeon I saw a brave 
knight, 

All saddled, all bridled, all fit for the fight. 
.Gilt was his saddle, and bent was his bow; 
Thrice I Ve told you his name, and yet you 
don’t know. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a 
wall, 

Humpty Dumpty had a 
great fall; 

Not all the King’s horses, 
nor all the King’s men, 


Could set Humpty 
Dumpty up again. 


[Mind your stops.] 

Every lady in this land 
Has twenty nails, upon each hand 
Five, and twenty on hands and feet: 
All this is true without deceit. 









NURSERY RHYMES 


Elizabeth, Elspeth, 
Betsy, and Bess, 

They all went together 
to seek a birds nest. 
They found a bird’s nest 
with five eggs in, 

They all took one, 
and left four in. 


As soft as silk, as white as milk, 
As bitter as gall, a thick wall, 
And a green coat covers me all. 

A walnut . 


As I went through the garden gap, 

Who should I meet but Dick Red-cap ! 

A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat: 
If you ’ll tell me this riddle, I ’ll give you a 
groat. 


166 A BOOK OF 



r\ ^ L 


A cherry . 






CHILD PLAY 167 

Old Mother Twitchett had but one 



And every time she went through a gap, 
A bit of her tail she left in a trap. 


A needle and thread. 


If you touch Hitty Pitty, 

Hitty Pitty will bite you. 

A nettle. 


Twelve pears hanging high, 
Twelve knights riding by; 
Each knight took a pear, 

And left eleven hanging there. 







168 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


[To start a race.] 

One to make ready, 

And two to prepare; 
Good luck to the rider, 

And away goes the mare. 



Two legs sat upon three 
legs, 

With one leg in his lap; 
In comes four legs, 


And runs away 
with one leg. 

Up jumps two legs, 
Catches up three legs, 
Throws it after four 


legs, 

And makes him bring back 
one leg. 


One leg is a leg of mutton ; two legs , 
a man ; three legs , a stool; four legs , a dog\ 



CHILD PLAY 


169 



My true love lives far from me, 

Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie. 

Many a rich present he sends to me, 

Petrum, Partrum, Paradise, Temporie, 
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie. 

He sent me a goose without a bone; 

He sent me a cherry without a stone. 

Petrum, &c. 

He sent me a Bible no man could read; 
He sent me a blanket without a thread. 

Petrum, &c. 





























i7o A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

How could there be a goose without a 
bone ? 

How could there be a cherry without a 
stone ? 

Petrum, &c. 

How could there be a Bible no man could 
read ? 

How could there be a blanket without a 
thread ? 

Petrum, &c. 


When the goose is in the egg-shell, there 
is no bone; 

When the cherry is in the blossom, there 
is no stone. 

Petrum, &c. 

When the Bible is in the press, no man it 
can read; 

When the wool is on the sheep’s back, 
there is no thread. 


Petrum, &c. 


CHILD PLAY 


1 7 .i 

As I was going to St. Ives, 

I met a man with seven wives, 

Every wife had seven sacks, 

Every sack had seven cats, 

Every cat had seven kits : 

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, 

How many were there going to St. Ives ? 


Hinks minks, the old witch winks, 
The fat begins to fry; 

Nobody at home, but jumping Joan, 
Father, mother, and I. 

Stick, stock, stone dead, 

Blind man can’t see, 

Every knave will have a slave, 

You or I must be he. 


Intery, mintery, cutery-corn, 
Apple seed and apple thorn; 
Wire, brier, limber-lock, 

Five geese in a flock, 

Sit and sing by a spring, 
O-u-t, and in again. 




72 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, 
Catch a nigger by the toe, 
If he hollers let him go, 
Eenie, meenie, minie, mo. 






Old Mother Goose 
173 

















174 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



Three little kittens lost their mittens, 
And they began to cry, 

“ O mother dear, 

We very much fear 
That we have lost our mittens.” 


“ Lost your mittens ! 

You naughty kittens! 

Then you shall have no pie.” 

“ Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.” 
'‘No, you shall have no pie.” 

“ Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.” 



OLD MOTHER GOOSE.—see /. 178. 














































V'« 

















CHILD PLAY 


i 75 


The three little kittens found their mittens, 
And they began to cry, 

“ O mother dear, 

See here, see here 
See! we have found our mittens.” 

“ Put on your mittens, 

You silly kittens, 

And you may have some pie.” 

“ Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r, 

Oh, let us have the pie. 

Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r.” 

The three little kittens put on their mittens, 
And soon ate up the pie; 

“ O mother dear, 

We greatly fear 

That we have soil’d our mittens.” 

“ Soiled your mittens ! 

You naughty kittens ! ” 

Then they began to sigh, 

“ Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.” 

Then they began to sigh, 

“ Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.” 


176 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

The three little kittens washed their mittens, 
And hung them out to dry; 

“ O mother dear, 

Do you not hear, 

That we have washed our mittens ?” 

“ Washed your mittens ! 

Oh, you ’re good kittens. 

But I smell a rat close by ! ” 

“ Hush, hush ! mee-ow, mee-ow ! 

We smell a rat close by! 

Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow! ” 


There was an owl lived in an oak, 
Wisky, wasky, weedle; 

And every word he ever spoke 
Was “ fiddle, faddle, feedle.” 

A gunner chanced to come that way, 
Wisky, wasky, weedle; 

Says he, “ I ’ll shoot you, silly bird.” 
Fiddle, faddle, feedle. 



CHILD PLAY 


177 


Little Jack Jelf 
Was put on the shelf 

Because he would not spell 
“ pie; ” 

When his aunt, Mrs. Grace, 
Saw his sorrowful face, 

She could not help saying, 
“ Oh, fie!” 

And since Master Jelf 
'Was put on the shelf 

Because he would not spell 
“ pie,” 

Let him stand there so grim, 
And no more about him, 

For I wish him a very good-bye ! 



Hub a dub dub, 

Three men in a tub ; 

And who do you think they be ? 
The butcher, the baker, 

The candlestick-maker; 
Turn ’em out, knaves all three I 



STORIES, PROVERBS, PARADOXES 
EXPERIENCE RHYMES, RHYMING 
ALPHABETS, ETC. 


CHILD STORIES AND 
CHILD PLAY. 


Old Mother Goose, when 
She wanted to wander, 

Would ride through the air 
On a very fine gander. 

Mother Goose had a house, 
T was built in a wood, 

Where an owl at the door 
For sentinel stood. 

This is her son Jack, 

A plain-looking lad; 

He is not very good, 

Nor yet very bad. 

178 





COME WITH A WHOOP, COME WITH A CALL.—see page rgr. 













CHILD STORIES AND PLAY i 79 



She sent him to market, 

A live goose he bought: 


“ Here ! mother,” says he, 

“ It will not go for nought.” 






































180 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


Jacks goose and her gander 
Grew very fond; 

They’d both eat together, 

Or swim in one pond. 

Jack found one morning, 

As I have been told, 

His goose had laid him 
An egg of pure gold. 

Jack rode to his mother, 

The news for to tell. 

She called him a good boy, 
And said it was well. 


There was a man in our town, 

And he was wondrous wise, 

He jumped into a bramble bush, 
And scratched out both his eyes ; 
But when he saw his eyes were out, 
With all his might and main, 

He jumped into another bush, 

And scratched ’em in again. 






































182 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


Little King Boggen he built a fine hall, 

Pie-crust and pastry-crust that was the 
wall, 

The windows were made of black puddings 
and white, 

And slated with pancakes, you ne er saw 
the like. 



Three children sliding on the ice, 
Upon a summers day; 

As it fell out they all fell in, 

The rest they ran away. 

Now, had these children been at home, 
Or sliding on dry ground, 











CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 183 

Ten thousand pounds to one penny, 
They had not all been drowned. 



You parents all that children have, 
And you that have got none, 

If you would have them safe abroad, 
Pray keep them safe at home. 


The King of France went up the hill, 
With twenty thousand men ; 

The King of France came down the hill, 
And ne ’er went up again. 













84 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



Old King Cole 
Was a merry old soul, 

And a merry old soul was he; 

He called for his pipe, 

And he called for his bowl, 

And he called for his fiddlers three. 

And every fiddler he had a fine fiddle, 

And a very fine fiddle had he ; 

“Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee,” went the 
fiddlers. 












CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 185 


Oh, there’s none so rare, 

As can compare 

With King Cole and his fiddlers three. 



If I’d as much money as I could spend, 

I never would cry, “Old chairs to mend! 
Old chairs to mend! Old chairs to mend!” 
I never would cry, “ Old chairs to mend! ” 

If I’d as much money as I could tell, 

I never would cry, “ Old clothes to sell! 
Old clothes to sell! Old clothes to sell!” 

I never would cry, “ Old clothes to sell! ” 




186 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


My father he died, but I can’t tell you how, 
He left me six horses to drive in my plough. 



I sold my six horses, and I bought me a 
cow, 

I’d fain have made a fortune, but did not 
know how. 

I sold my cow, and I bought me a calf; 

I’d fain have made a fortune, but lost the 
best half. 




CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 187 

I sold my calf, and I bought me a cat; 

A pretty thing she was, in my chimney 
corner sat. 

I sold my cat, and bought me a mouse; 

He carried fire in his tail, and burnt down 
my house. 


Tom he was a pipers son, 

He learned to play when 
he was young, 

And all the tune that 
he could play 
Was, “ Over the hills 
and far away,” 

Over the hills, and a great 
way off, 

And the wind will blow my 
top-knot off. 

Now, Tom with his pipe 
made such a noise 
That he pleased both the girls and boys, 
And they stopped to hear him play 
“ Over the hills and far away.” 





188 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

Tom with his pipe did play with such skill 
That those who heard him could never 
keep still; 

Whenever they heard they began for to 
dance, — 


Even pigs on their hind legs would after 
him prance. 



As Dolly was milking her cow one day, 
Tom took out his pipe and began for to 
play; . 






CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 189 

So Doll and the cow danced “ the Cheshire 
round,” 

Till the pail was broke, and the milk on 
the ground. 

He met old Dame Trot with a basket of 

eggs, 

He used his pipe and she used her legs; 

She danced about till the eggs were all 
broke, 

She began for to fret, but he laughed at 
the joke. 

He saw a cross fellow was beating an ass, 

Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes and 
glass; 

He took out his pipe and played them a 
tune, 

And the jackass’s load was lightened full 
soon. 


For every evil under the sun, 

There is a remedy, or there is none, 
If there be one, try and find it; 

If there be none, never mind it. 



iqo A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



I saw a ship a-sailing, 

A-sailing on the sea; 

And, oh ! it was all laden 
With pretty things for thee ! 

There were comfits in the cabin, 

And apples in the hold ; 

The sails were made of silk, 

And the masts were made of gold. 












CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 191 


The four-and-twenty sailors 
That stood between the decks 
Were four-and-twenty white mice, 
With chains about their necks. 

The captain was a duck, 

With a packet on his back; 

And when the ship began to move, 
The captain said, “ Quack ! quack! ” 



I saw three ships come sailing by, 

Come sailing by, come sailing by — 

I saw three ships come sailing by, 

New Year’s Day in the morning. 

And what do you think was in them then, 
Was in them then, was in them then? 
And what do you think was in them then, 
New Year’s Day in the morning? 













192 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 
Three pretty girls were in them then, 


Were in them then, were in them then — 



Three pretty girls were in them then, 


New Year’s Day in the morning. 








CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 193 


One could whistle, and another could sing, 
And the other could play on the violin — 
Such joy was there at my wedding, 

New Years Day in the morning. 


Oh that I was where I would be ! 
Then would I be where I am not! 
But where I am I must be, 

And where I would be, I cannot. 


In time of prosperity friends will be plenty, 
In time of adversity not one amongst 
twenty. 


See a pin and pick it up, 

All the day you ’ll have good luck ; 
See a pin and let it lay, 

Bad luck you ’ll have all the day. 


Riddle me, riddle me, riddle me ree, 

None are so blind as those that won’t see. 






194 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


My Lady Wind, my Lady Wind, 
Went round about the house to find 
A chink to get her foot in: 

She tried the key-hole in the door, 
She tried the crevice in the floor, 
And drove the chimney soot in. 



And then one night when it was dark, 
She blew up such a tiny spark 
That all the house was pothered : 
From it she raised up such a flame 
















CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 195 

As flamed away to Belting Lane, 

And White Cross folks were smothered. 

% And thus when once, my little dears, 

A whisper reaches itching ears, 

The same will come, you ’ll find: 

Take my advice, restrain the tongue, 
Remember what old Nurse has sung 
Of busy Lady Wind ! 


I love sixpence, pretty little sixpence, 

I love sixpence better than my life; 

I spent a penny of it, I spent another, 

And took fourpence home to my wife. 

Oh, my little fourpence, pretty little four- 
pence, 

I love fourpence better than my life; 

I spent a penny of it, I spent another, 

And I took twopence home to my wife. 

Oh, my little twopence, my pretty little 
twopence, 

I love twopence better than my life; 


10 



ig6 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

I spent a penny of it, I spent another, 

And I took nothing home to my wife. 

Oh, my little nothing, my pretty little 
nothing, 

What will nothing buy for my wife? 

I have nothing, I spend nothing, 

I love nothing better than my wife. 


j> 



There were three jovial huntsmen, 
As I have heard them say, 

And they would go a-hunting 
All on a summer’s day. 









CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 197 

All the day they hunted, 

And nothing could they find 

But a ship a-sailing, 

A-sailing with the wind. 

One said it was a ship, 

The other said Nay; 

The third said it was a house 
With the chimney blown away. 

And all the night they hunted, 

And nothing could they find, 

But the moon a-gliding, 

A-gliding with the wind. 

One said it was the moon, 

The other said Nay; 

The third said it was a cheese, 

And half o ’’t cut away. 


A man of words and not of deeds, 

Is like a garden full of weeds; 

For when the weeds begin to grow, 
Then doth the garden overflow. 



198 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

Oh, who is so merry, so merry, heigh ho! 
As the light-hearted fairy, heigh ho, heigh 

ho! 

He dances and 
sings 

To the sound of 
his wings, 

With a hey, and a 
heigh, and a 
ho! 

Oh, who is so merry, 
so airy, heigh 
ho ! 

As the light-headed 
1 fairy, heigh ho, 

heigh ho! 

His nectar he sips 
From the primrose’s lips, 

With a hey, and a heigh, and a ho! 

Oh, who is so merry, so merry, heigh ho! 
As the light-footed fairy, heigh ho, heigh 
ho! 





CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 199 


His night is the noon, 

And his sun is the moon, 
With a hey, and a heigh, and a ho! 



Bryan O’Lin and his wife and wife’s 


mother, 

They all went over a bridge together: 

The bridge was broken, and they all fell in; 
“ Here’s a nice mess ! ” quoth Bryan O’Lin. 























200 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 




S|U/ - 1 iii 

One, two, 

Buckle my shoe; 

Three, four, 

||iL_Shut the door; 

Five, six, 

Pick up sticks; 

Seven, 
eight, 

Lay them 
straight; 




A-' 

Nine, ten, a good fat hen ; 









CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 201 



Eleven, 

twelve, 

Who will delve ? 

Thirteen, 

fourteen, 

Maids a-courting; 

Fifteen, 

sixteen, 

5— Maids a-kissing; 




Seventeen, eighteen, 

Maids a-waiting; 

Nineteen, twenty, 

My stomach’s empty. 

*>Pray, dame, give me some supper. 










202 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



The man in the wilderness asked me, 
How many strawberries grew in the 
sea? 

I answered him as I thought good, 

As many as red herrings grew in the 
wood. 









CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 203 


There was a man, and he had nought, 
And robbers came to rob him; 

He crept up to the chimney-pot, 

And then they thought they had him. 



But he got down on t’other side, 

And then they could not find him; 
He ran fourteen miles in fifteen days, 
And never looked behind him. 


2 o 4 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



If wishes were horses, 
Beggars would ride; 

If turnips were watches, 

I’d wear one by my side. 


If “ ifs ” and “ ands,” 

Were pots and pans, 

There would be no need for tinkers 1 



CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 205 



Birds of a feather flock together, 
And so will pigs and swine; 

Rats and mice will have their choice, 
And so will I have mine. 



If all the world was apple-pie, 

And all the sea was ink, 

And all the trees were bread and cheese, 
What should we have for drink ? 








206 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


Come when you’re called, 
Do what you re bid, 

Shut the door after you, 
And never be chid. 


Multiplication is vexation, 
Division is as bad ; - 
The Rule of Three doth 
puzzle me, 

And Practice drives me 
mad. 



When V and I together meet, 

They make the number Six complete. 
When I with V doth meet once more, 
Then’t is they Two can make but Four. 
And when that V from I is gone, 

Alas! poor I can make but One. 


He that hath it and will not keep it, 
He that wanteth it and will not seek it, 
He that drinketh and is not dry, 

Shall want money, as well as I. 





CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 207 


A was an apple-pie; 
B bit it; 



C cut it; 

D dealt it; 

E eats it; 

F fought for it; 



G got it; 

H had it; 

J joined it; 

K kept it; 

L longed for it; 


M mourned for it; 
N nodded at it; 

O opened it; 

P peeped in it; 

Q quartered it; 

R ran for it; 



S stole it; 

T took it; 

V viewed it; 

W wanted it; 

X, Y, Z, and amper¬ 
sand (&) 

All wish’d for a 
piece in hand. 



208 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 

A, B, C, and D, 

Pray, playmates, agree. 

E, F, and G, 

Well, so it shall be. 

J, K, and L, 

In peace we will dwell. 

M, N, and O, 

To play let us go. 

P, Q, R, and S, 

Love may we possess. 

W, X, and Y, 

Will not quarrel or die. 

Z,-and ampersand, 

Go to school at command. 


[Tom Thumb’s Alphabet.] 



A was an Archer, and shot at a frog, 

B was a Butcher, and had a great dog. 
C was a Captain, all covered with lace, 








209 


CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 

D was a Drunkard, and had a red face. 

E was an Esquire, with pride on his 
brow, 

F was a Farmer, and followed the plough. 



G was a Gamester, who had but ill 
luck, 

H was a Hunter, and hunted a buck. 

I was an Innkeeper, who loved to carouse, 
J was a Joiner, and built up a house. 
Kwas King William, who ruled in England, 




2io A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



L was a Lady, who had a white hand. 

M was a Miser, and hoarded up gold, 

N was a Nobleman, gallant and bold. 

O was an Oyster man, and went about town, 
P was a Parson, and wore a black gown. 

Q was a Queen, who was fond of good flip^ 
R was a Robber, and 
wanted a whip. 

S was a Sailor, and 
spent all he got, 

T was a Tinker, and 
mended a pot. 

U was an Usurer, a 
miserable elf, 

V was a Vintner, who 
drank all himself. 




CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 211 


w was a Watchman, and guarded the door, 
X was expensive, and so became poor. 

Y was a Youth, that did not love school, 

Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool. 



A for the Ape that we 
saw at the fair; 

B for a Blockhead, who 
ne’er shall go there; 

C for a Cauliflower, 
white as a curd; 



II 



2i2 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 



D for a Duck, a very good bird; 

E for an Egg, good in pudding or pies; 

F for a Farmer, rich, honest, and wise; 

G for a Gentleman, void of all care; 

H for the Hound that ran down the hare; 



I for an Indian, sooty and dark ; 

K for the Keeper that looked to the park 
L for the Lark that soared in the air; 

M for a Mole that ne’er could get there ; 
N for Sir Nobody, ever in fault; 

O for an Otter, that ne’er 
could be caught; 

P for a Pudding, stuck- 
full of plums; 






CHILD STORIES AND PLAY 213 

Q was for quartering it; 

see, here he comes ; 

R for a Rook, that croaked 
in the trees ; 

S for a Sailor, that ploughed the 
deep seas; 

T for a Top, that doth 
prettily spin ; 

V for a Virgin of delicate 
mien; 

W for Wealth in gold, silver, and pence; 

X for old Xenophon, noted for sense; 

Y for a Yew, which forever is green; 

Z for a Zebra, the oddest beast seen. 




v; 



214 A BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES 


My story ’s ended, 
My spoon is bended: 
If you don’t like it, 
Go to the next door 
And get it mended. 


Father Iohnson Nicholas Iohnson’s Son— 
Son Iohnson Nicholas Iohnson’s Father. 




























































i 








































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